Chapter 8
With the exception of the brutal try-outs at the end of the week, Arthur had very much enjoyed Recruiting Week. The Student Council president, a very organized, sensible British girl, had pulled him out of math during a particularly boring lesson, just to take a nice stroll around the school gardens and talk with him about his future ambitions in the club. All the upperclassmen in student council made a point to learn his name and they all took time out of their schedule to explain to the new members what role they played in the club and what their responsibilities were. Arthur found them to be mature, charming company, and imagined some of them might even be his future co-workers in the British government.
Then hazing week started. Thankfully, the Music Club and the Crafts Club thought the practice of hazing was ridiculous and didn't demand anything of him. For hopeful council members, however, it meant they were responsible for planning and organizing the first official school trip to London in four days. With no help from the upperclassmen (unless it came in the form of harsh criticism) they had to organize a trip for roughly 200 students, including collecting permission slips and other various forms, organizing the itinerary for the day, managing the budget for the event, which was not much, and promoting the trip. This task was made even more difficult considering the freshmen Arthur had to work with. For starters, there was Francis. He barely showed up to the meetings on time, and even when he was present, it seemed he was only there to ruffle Arthur's feathers. He contradicted him at every turn, seemingly just for the fun of arguing with him. He didn't understand the importance of their task, and Arthur was constantly having to pick up after his slack.
Next, there was a hot-headed German boy who was an asset when it came to keeping control of everyone during meetings, but he had absolutely no patience and caused one meek girl to resign from the club because of how brutally he snapped at her one day. The only two members that could tolerate the German's bossiness and temper were equally useless to Arthur— Feliciano was a total airhead, and Kiku refused to talk to anyone or commit to actually doing anything. He seemed to only be in attendance because his two friends had joined. Of course, there was Alfred, who Arthur felt terrible asking anything of because the poor boy was practically in a body cast by day two of hazing week, and it wasn't like anyone would take him seriously when he was wearing such an odd assortment of ridiculous women's clothing per demand of the rugby team. There were a few giggly girls that could get work done if he wasn't in the vicinity, but Arthur hadn't figured that out till day two, and precious time had already been wasted.
Thankfully, there was Wang Yao.
He was the firstborn son of a very important Chinese business man, and he knew how to get things done. For the most part, he was content to follow Arthur's directions, unless he was suggesting useful improvements. He and Arthur quickly became an unstoppable force of organization and accomplishment. If it hadn't been for Wang, Arthur wouldn't have gotten anything done in his classes that week, and he probably would have dropped out of the club, too.
The upperclassmen officers of the student council sat idly in the back of the room, as they had done all week, merely observing and criticizing. At first, it had been unnerving and chaotic, but once Arthur took control, they'd largely been silent. After all, despite the difficulties Arthur was facing, there was not much he did that could be criticized.
"Alright, this meeting is in session. First, let's review what we covered last time. Wang?"
"Of course," Wang flipped open his school bag and produced an organizer decorated with cute pandas. Apparently, his family was responsible for developing many of the Chinatowns in various places, and so despite being extremely wealthy, Wang carried around strange nick-knacks and kept them all in a knock-off backpack. "You assigned permission slips to Ludwig's team, and you gave Francis the responsibility of securing a food establishment for the lunch break."
"Thank you, Wang. How are we on permission slips?" Arthur asked. Ludwig pulled up his e-mail and scanned his inbox.
"I began distributing electronic copies and the response time was finally acceptable. We have permission slips from 183 students, and the deadline ends in four hours. I will be paying a visit to those who have not submitted their forms yet." Arthur winced at the underlying threat in Ludwig's voice, but he wasn't about to scold one of the few members who was cooperating and taking his job seriously.
"That's close to the number we expected, though I might need to call a few places to—" Whatever Arthur was about to say was interrupted by a student entering the meeting room late.
"Alfred...that is just pathetic. Haven't you had enough of that stupid rugby team yet?" Francis asked, peeking up from a book he was casually reading. Alfred sheepishly entered, looking humiliated and exhausted. He wore his usual school uniform, but on top of the clothes, he had on women's lingerie today, accentuated by a frilly pink tutu. He sported two black eyes and a twisted ankle (injuries from "practice") as well as heavily bandaged hands—he'd had to cook dinner for the rugby team and, not knowing anything about cooking, he'd burned himself pretty badly. He hadn't been able to hold a pen or pencil all week, and his teachers weren't being very sympathetic about it.
"Sorry I'm—omph!" Alfred (who Arthur now realized was missing his glasses) tripped over a book bag and fell flat on his face. He didn't get up for a long moment, seemingly unable to muster the strength or the will. Abandoning his spot at the head of the table, Arthur hurried to his roommate's side and gently looped an arm around his.
"What happened to your glasses?"
"They used them instead of the ball. They're somewhere on the rugby field, but I haven't had a chance to go search for them."
"Alfred, I've about had it with these bloody bullies. I've a mind to go tell this Captain of yours that if you come back from practice with one more bruise, I'm going to...to..."
"Fuss at him?" Alfred asked with a warm, fond smile. Arthur sighed as he helped Alfred into a chair.
"I was thinking more of taking my foil along and running him through."
"That would be awesome."
"Yes, well, I mean it—you can't keep enduring such abuse. Take Ivan to practice with you next time. He follows you around everywhere else, so you might as well put him to good use."
"I don't need Ivan to fight my battles for me, and I'm not here to talk about rugby. We've got a trip or something to organize, right?" Alfred said, trying to shift attention off of their rather private conversation. The members of the club were all watching them, shamelessly eavesdropping.
"Right. I was saying I might need to call a few places to adjust the numbers. Speaking of numbers, where's Basch?" Arthur asked, noting for the first time that the Swiss boy was not sitting at the table.
"After Ludwig scared Elise into quitting, he isn't participating anymore," Yao informed.
"Ludwig," Arthur said with a sigh, "Basch was managing our finances. I'm afraid we desperately need him. Can't I persuade you to apologize to Elise and convince them to come back?" Arthur asked. Ludwig looked irritated by the request, but Feliciano smiled brightly.
"Sure we can! Ludwig is such a meanie to the pretty girls! I will talk to her, no problem!"
"Err...thanks, Feliciano. Now, onto the lunch venue. Francis?"
"None were suitable," Francis said, without glancing up from his book. Arthur scowled, his impressive eyebrows forking downwards in displeasure.
"Explain," Arthur demanded. Francis glanced up, smirking roguishly.
"They all have the misfortune of being British, therefore the food in inedible." Francis had the audacity to wink at him.
"Argh! I'm going to—"
"Do you need something to throw?" Yao asked professionally.
"Yes. Something heavy," Arthur demanded crisply. Yao quickly produced a cheap looking, imitation jade dragon. "Thank you, Yao," Arthur said, hefting the dragon back like a baseball. Just as Francis was beginning to look concerned, the President politely cleared her throat.
"Though tempting...we generally frown upon throwing heavy objects in meetings, Arthur," she said, her tone suggesting she could think of a few people she'd like to chunk things at in her own circle.
"Oh, err, right. Ever so sorry for my momentary slip," Arthur said primly. He returned the dragon to Yao, who tucked it away in his bookbag. Snickering now that he was safe again, Francis returned to his book.
"I have secured a large, authentic British pub. The food will be nasty, but I suppose that is part of the cultural experience. It should be large enough to comfortably sit groups of fifty, so we'll have to either find a second location, or do four different lunch times."
"Let's organize them into groups and rotate the lunch times. Finding another pub this close to Friday is a headache I don't want to deal with. Ludwig, your team can organize them into groups."
"By student ID or in alphabetic order?" Ludwig asked.
"We'll go with student ID. We already sit in alphabetic order in class, so this will mix up the groups."
"What do you need me to do, Arthur?" Alfred asked hopefully.
"Err...you can staple...no, forgot about your hands. You can...help Feliciano convince Elise and Basch to come back. Just don't try to flirt with Elise," Arthur said. Francis arched an eyebrow at Arthur suggestively and the Brit continued hastily, "Not because I care who you flirt with, of course, but because Basch wouldn't like it very much."
"Considering how I look this week, I don't think any attempts to flirt are going to be very successful, but you can count on me, Arthur! I'll get them to come back no matter what it takes!"
"Thank you, Alfred. I'm sure you and Feliciano will do a fine job. Now, before the meeting concludes, we need to solve the transportation issue."
"We can give out jet packs! London by air—it'd be super cool!" Alfred contributed. Arthur's smile remained fixed on his face, not wavering for a second.
"Anyone? Any ideas?"
"Fine, what about hot air balloons?" Alfred asked.
"Nobody has any suggestions?" Arthur said.
"Are you ignoring me?" Alfred asked, rather cutely.
"What about your famous triple decker buses?" Yao asked. Arthur nodded at him in acknowledgement.
"I considered renting out a tourist bus fleet as well, but it's much more costly than I anticipated. Without Basch here, I can't say for certain, but I believe the budget only allows us to secure the buses for roughly two hours, but that will mean we have to cut the museum, since it charges admission."
"Any other ideas?" Arthur asked. "No? Well I was considering the logistics of public transportation. Using the undergound wouldn't work for the entire itinerary, but it will serve to get everyone to most locations. We'll need to include a guide on using the trains in their information packets. Meghan, I hoped you would put that together, since you're a fellow Brit and I hoped you you would know your way around London."
"Sure thing, Prince Arthur," a girl sitting near the back agreed with a dreamy voice. She and her friends had joined the club seemingly for the sole purpose of listening to Arthur speak. That would have been ideal normally, but they also seemed rather hung up on the idea that one of them would become his girlfriend. Francis had jokingly started calling them his fanclub. Arthur pointedly ignored all such talk.
"So, the groups will be on separate paths with the exception of the Changing of the Guard ceremony at 11—we'll all have to be there at the same time to see it. Not that it's anything exciting, but for some reason, foreigners seem to particularly enjoy it."
"Is that the thing with the guys in the big furry hats?" Alfred asked, grinning hugely in anticipation. Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Alfred. Those men are my grandmother's guards. Which brings me to my next point. I want this outing to be exceptional, since it is our first duty as Student Council members. I thought it would be enjoyable for some students to have tea with my grandmother and myself during lunch at Buckingham Palace, instead of eating lunch at the pub. Of course, it must be a limited number, so I thought we could do a raffle. This would raise money for the club, and generate interest in the outing."
"How is your grandmother doing? She is such a charming lady," Francis questioned.
"She's quite well, thank you," Arthur replied.
"You mean we'd get to meet the Queen? Can we buy tickets yet? I'll take a hundred! I don't care how much they cost!" Meghan exclaimed. Arthur blushed at her obvious enthusiasm for his idea and produced a roll of tickets from his bag.
"I was going to get your opinion on how much we should charge per ticket."
"Ask for fifty—the students here can easily pay that and more," Francis said.
"Fifty bucks? That's a lot of money, dude! How about five?" Alfred rebutted.
"I agree with Alfred. Raffle tickets are not supposed to be so pricey. Five pounds sounds like an acceptable amount for a ticket," Yao said.
"Alright, then we're settled on five," Arthur declared.
"Can I buy all the tickets now?" the girl sitting beside Meghan asked.
"With a limit on how many you can buy—ten should be the maximum," Yao added.
"That sounds fair, thank you, Yao," Arthur said. We will need someone to post these fliers in the common room, and pass a few out at lunch tomorrow. Kiku, can you help me manage ticket sales?" Arthur asked. The Japanese boy shifted in his seat, frowning slightly.
"I suppose. It depends."
"Kiku, I'm afraid I must have yes or no for an answer. I understand if you're too busy this week with other obligations," Arthur said. Kiku seemed flustered, but finally nodded.
"Yes. I will help you sell tickets...if it is absolutely necessary," he said, in heavily accented English. He seemed uncomfortable speaking in front of others, and the small exchange had made him flush with color. Oblivious to his discomfort, Feliciano patted him enthusiastically on the back.
"See? I told you joining a club would be super fun!"
"Alright, can you sum up the meeting for us, Yao?" Arthur asked.
"Certainly. Feliciano and Alfred are in charge of convincing our treasurer and Elisa to return to tomorrow's meeting. Ludwig will continue processing permission slips and will organize the students into four groups. Meghan and her friends are responsible for assembling the information about using the public transportation system, and Kiku and Arthur will handle ticket sales for the special lunch with the Queen."
"I think that covers it. We've handled lunch, transportation, and the itinerary is almost final. Does anyone have any questions or concerns?" Arthur asked.
"I think only one person should win the raffle...and it should totally be a date," Meghan said. Arthur blushed, shifting the papers in front of him simply to occupy his hands.
"My grandmother was more than happy to accommodate a group of ten, and I am very opposed to the idea of raffling off a date in general, even more so when it is with myself."
"Yeah, that's a super dumb idea," Alfred added, shooting an uncharacteristically annoyed look at Meghan. She practically growled at him.
"Oh, and like jetpacks was an intelligent plan? I don't understand why you get to room with Prince Arthur—I thought girls had to room with other girls," Meghan spat back, alluding to Alfred's feminine garments. None of the other rugby recruits had been forced to wear them—only Alfred.
"You're just jealous that I have a bigger cup size than you," Alfred replied smugly.
"Alllright, and on that note, this meeting is officially adjourned. Come on, Alfred, let's go find your glasses," Arthur said.
"Really? You're gonna help me look?" Alfred said hopefully.
"Hey! We can help, too, right guys? Us club members have to stick together now!" Feliciano chirruped.
Ludwig looked annoyed and Kiku remained silent, but the trio followed Feliciano's lead anyway.
"I'm sure Matthew will want to help as well. He'd probably still in his book club meeting, but once he's done, we'll join you on the field," Francis offered.
"I have a metal detector in my room. You may borrow it, if you like," Yao offered.
"Wow, guys, thanks! You're all way nicer than the rugby team," Alfred said.
"You know who else would be nicer? The art club members. It's not too late to join," Arthur suggested. Alfred shook his head stubbornly.
"I told you I don't want to join some sissy art club!"
"Alright, whatever you say...though I think it's much more sissy to prance about in women's knickers and a tutu."
Unable to argue with that, Alfred sullenly followed after Arthur and some of the other Student Council members to the rugby field.
USUK
Alfred had never been so desperate for a week to end. He was in pain (so much pain) and he was pretty sure there would be pictures of him in the tabloids soon, sporting women's clothing and looking like a weak loser. This was the reason that he deemed it time to write another e-mail home. After typing his parent's e-mail addresses with agonizing slowness in the recipient box, Alfred tried to think of what to say. From his spot on the couch, Arthur watched his painfully slow typing.
"I can type it for you, if you like. You can't do much with those bandages," Arthur stated. With a thankful smile, Alfred carried his laptop across the room and passed it to Arthur, plopping down beside him.
"Oh, I thought you were writing your essay," Arthur said.
"Nope! I write to my parents every week. Okay, start off with, 'Dear Mom and Dad, I'm having a great week!' Make sure to use a smiley face after that part," Alfred said. Arthur simply stared at him.
"You're not joking, are you?" Arthur said. Alfred just looked confused.
"Guys can use smiley faces, too. Geez, Arthur, get in touch with your feminine side some time."
"That's not what I was referring to...oh, whatever, I typed your blatant lie. What now?"
"Say, 'The rugby team is really warming up to me. I scored a touchdown today, and that girl in science lab told me she'd go out with me. I know you'll be really happy that I have a girlfriend now, Mom.' Got all that, Arthur?" Alfred asked. Arthur, however, had stopped typing.
"You...you're dating her now? You didn't mention it," Arthur said.
"Well, I don't think it really counts. I'm not allowed to talk to her in the halls or outside of class, I can't touch her in any way whatsoever, and I have to do all our lab work. Plus, she made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone we were dating. You don't count, though. You're my best friend—I tell you everything!"
"Alfred..." Arthur trailed off helplessly. He couldn't think of anything else to say, though, so he dutifully typed what Alfred had dictated, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.
"Okay, say, 'But I gotta warn you guys some pictures might leak out that aren't so great. This week was hazing week on the rugby team, and I had to do a lot of embarrassing stuff. Don't worry, Dad, I only cried once! I'm hanging in there—I definitely won't give up!' Use three exclamation points so he knows I really mean that part," Alfred said.
"Please say you're almost done. I can't take much more of this," Arthur said, everything inside him protesting the pushing of each key.
"Sorry I've been such a bother this week," Alfred said, misunderstanding Arthur's statement. The British boy could no longer fight the urge that had possessed him since nearly the start of the week. He put Alfred's laptop aside and stood up so he could rant properly.
"This is ridiculous," Arthur began. "Your rugby mates are total tossers! Tomorrow's the last day of hazing week, and I'm scared about what they might try to do to you. Please, Alfred, give up on this stupid notion of fitting in with those meat-heads! You're not like them, and that isn't a bad thing!"
"You don't understand how much this means to me. I have to be on that team. It's more important than anything else I do this year! I know they aren't the nicest guys, but once they see how hard I train, they'll be nicer to me. They just don't take me seriously yet, that's all."
"I'm going with you to practice tomorrow," Arthur said firmly. Alfred stubbornly met his eyes.
"No. It's against the rules. If you show up, they could kick me out. I don't want your help," Alfred insisted. Their tense argument was interrupted by a knock on the door. Ignoring Arthur's annoyed look, Alfred limped past him and opened the door.
"Hey Matty. What's up?"
"Nothing much, I just wanted to check on you. You didn't look so good during last period today. Practice wasn't too rough I hope?" Matthew asked.
"No way! It's getting way better. I actually liked that dress they had me wear today. I think it brought out the blue in my eyes," Alfred joked weakly. Matthew, however, just sighed.
"Please be careful tomorrow. Francis overheard something today that has us both worried. We think the rugby players are planning something...something big. Francis thought he heard your name mentioned, but he couldn't be sure."
"Nah, you're just worried for no reason, Matty. I'm tough. They've probably got a wedding dress or something for me tomorrow, but it's only a little fun and games. How about you? The book club isn't too bad on hazing, are they? I bet they're making you read a ton of stuff," Alfred said, as if this were a fate worse than death. Matthew chuckled and shook his head.
"It's been really fun. We did some writing prompts yesterday afternoon that gave me some new ideas for the comic. I guess you won't be able to draw anything anytime soon, though, eh?"
Alfred glanced at his thickly wrapped hands with a painful grimace. "Sorry, buddy. Probably not. But I'm kinda behind on schoolwork anyway this week. Maybe next week I'll have more time for the comic," Alfred said. Finally noticing Arthur sitting on his bed with a fierce scowl on his face, Matthew peeped a little hello to him before saying goodnight and begging Alfred once more to be careful. As soon as the door clicked shut, Arthur stomped into the bathroom, practically slamming the door in his wake.
Alfred slumped onto his bed, silently praying Arthur would forgive him for what he was going to do that night.
USUK
"Did you come alone?" Mike asked gruffly. Alfred nodded nervously. It was the middle of the night, and Alfred sat in the locker room surrounded by the rugby team. All the other freshman recruits had been given their brand new, brown leather jackets, but Alfred still hadn't earned his, according to the Captain. He opened a cardboard box sitting on a nearby bench and pulled out the jacket. Alfred's eyes lit up with desire. On the back, the number 50 was emblazoned proudly, and the patches on the arm would tell everyone he was an athlete. One day, Alfred hoped his jacket would be covered with championship patches, too, and a big C on the chest for team captain. It was a standard size jacket, designed to fit the older, burly teens, and it looked like it would be about six sizes too big for him.
But it was perfect, and Alfred had never wanted something so badly.
"If you want to earn this jacket, you have to do one more, tiny little thing for us. You know the hallway of portraits outside the Headmaster's office? Well, you're going to give them all a face lift." A bag full of spray paint was tossed at him.
"You want me to...vandalize them?" Alfred asked nervously.
"Not just vandalize them. We want it to be so offensive that they close the hallway down. Take pictures to prove you did it," the Captain said. "If you really go through with it, the jacket's yours. Don't worry about the fallout. We already got a guy we're going to pin it on. If you do it, you'll be a member of the team. We won't let anybody fuck with you anymore, and we'll look out for you."
"I don't know..."
"Think about it, four-eyes. You wanna write your daddy to tell him you sprayed a little paint and made it onto the rugby team, or that you wussed out and joined the fucking craft club with your gay little roommate?"
For once, Alfred was so internally conflicted that he didn't stand up against someone teasing Arthur. He stared at the spray paint cans with a heavy heart.
"O-okay. I'll do it."
USUK
They came for Alfred during fourth period. At first, Arthur was terribly confused as to why a police officer was present, but then all the pictures of the Headmaster's hall that had been plastered everywhere that morning flashed into his mind's eye and he realized that he'd failed to protect his roommate—Alfred's true hazing had taken place the night before.
"Alfred!" Arthur exclaimed, unable to believe his roommate would have done something so incredibly stupid. Looking scared but resolute, Alfred stood up from his desk, quietly collected his things, and went with the officer and the school official. He was gone for the rest of the period.
At lunch, Arthur could hardly sit still. Ivan cut his meat with far more force than was necessary, and Matthew nervously watched the doors of the cafeteria, hoping against hope that Alfred would come bouncing in with a big grin like usual.
Alfred didn't enter, but the rugby team did. They were laughing and rough-housing with each other, gloating over their evil act. Arthur acted without thinking. He was gone from the table before Francis could grab hold of him. A hush fell over the cafeteria as Arthur stomped his way up to the Captain, the biggest one of them all save the ever-silent Swedish boy, and shoved him as hard as he could.
"How dare you manipulate someone like Alfred! He would have never done such a thing on his own! I know your responsible for this, and if you've jeopardized his entire education over your stupid, cruel—" Arthur was cut off mid-tirade when his roommate finally managed to squeeze through the throng of burly athletes, brown leather jacket sagging off his skinny shoulders.
"Easy, Arthur! Everything's okay! I was gonna be in a lot of trouble, and the guys tried to help me out of it by blaming someone else, but I told the Headmaster that I was responsible, and that I was really, really sorry, and he said as long as I do custodial duty for the rest of the year, he'll let it go. Isn't that great? And look! I earned my jacket!"
Arthur was embarrassed, and frustrated, and he felt like Alfred had betrayed him terribly by truly joining the rugby team. He frowned coldly at Alfred's beaming face, causing the light in the other boy's eyes to dim instantly.
"You're a stupid, gullible, naive idiot, and you look ridiculous in that stupid jacket! I hate you, Alfred Jones! I hope your new friends are everything you hope they are, because right now, I can't stomach looking at you. Move your crap to Ivan's room. I want nothing to do with a boy that spray painted a giant dick over a painting of my grandmother!"
Arthur pushed past the boys on the rugby team and fled the cafeteria, leaving a shell-shocked roommate in his wake.
"Shake it off, Spaz. He's just jealous 'cause of all the tail you're gonna get now that you made the team. Come on," the Captain said, cuffing Alfred heavily on his shoulder and steering him towards the table where the rugby players sat.
Alfred felt terrible, and for the first time, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to smile.
USUK
Arthur decided to help Alfred out one final time by actually tossing all his things into the hallway. Francis and Matthew stood by helplessly as he did so, and Ivan watched him with disproving eyes.
"Arthur, you really should talk to him. You know Alfred probably didn't even know he was spray painting your grandmother's portrait..." Matthew reasoned. In response, Arthur kicked Alfred's empty suitcase out into the hallway.
"Come now, this is very undignified. Alfred is a simple boy. You knew how badly he wanted to make the team. He probably would have done anything they asked. So a few paintings were ruined. Isn't that better than them all ganging up to beat him bloody?" Francis asked. Arthur scowled fiercely.
"He shouldn't associate with them at all! You weren't there when a police officer came to escort him out of class. A police officer. He broke the law because of those idiots! I simply can't be friends with someone who can be so easily pushed around by anyone that waves a trophy at him!"
"This is what his father expects of him, da? You cannot understand what it means to have a father like Alfred's...or like mine. He must be loyal to his family, and the demands they have placed on him. Otherwise, he will never become a man," Ivan said. At that moment, Yao came down the hallway, his eyes widening in alarm when he saw all the commotion.
"I came to give you the rough draft of the information packet for tomorrow. If now is a bad time, though..."
"Yao is sensible. I'm sure he agrees with me."
"Regarding Alfred?" Yao asked, scanning his eyes over the American boy's things heaped messily in the hallway.
"Yes, regarding Alfred," Arther snapped.
"Let me see if I understand the situation. Alfred's parents want him to join the rugby team, but you want him to join the art club. What does Alfred want?" Yao asked wisely.
"I just want my best friend back. I returned the jacket," Alfred said meekly, appearing at the other end of the hallway. He glanced nervously at everyone present, and cast a sad look over his disheveled things. "I'm sorry I messed up your grandma's painting. I didn't know it was her, honest. I know you said you hated me...but I'll do whatever it takes to make it right! I'll join the art club, and I'll paint you a new picture of your grandma. Even better than the one I messed up," Alfred said.
Arthur's crossed arms fell to his sides in surprise.
"You...you really gave them the jacket back? After everything you went through to get it...you gave it back for me?"
"That's what you wanted, right? Besides, you said I looked dumb in it. It was too big anyway, and, and..." Alfred's eyes had filled with tears, and they began to slip down his cheeks. Still, he kept trying to convince Arthur he was fine, a shaky smile on his face. "I don't even need a jacket here half the time. It was r-really itchy, and I'd much rather have a superhero cape..."
Quite suddenly, Alfred's arms were full of his shorter roommate.
"You're such an idiot."
"But are we friends again?" Alfred asked hopefully. He tentatively wrapped his arms around Arthur's shoulders hugging him briefly before the boys separated.
"Of course we're friends. I don't hate you, Alfred, and...and if the bloody jacket means that much to you, then you shouldn't have to give it up on my account. Go get it back, before they find a new towel boy to push around," Arthur said. Alfred wiped at his sky blue eyes, his smile becoming impossibly huge.
"Ya mean it, Arthur?"
"Of course I mean it. Just promise me you'll be careful. You can't just do everything blindly that they tell you to do," Arthur insisted. Alfred nodded energetically, too happy to really absorb Arthur's warning.
"Okay, I promise! I'm gonna go get my jacket back!" He started to run off, but then he seemed to remember that all his things were in the hallway. He glanced at Ivan awkwardly, and then at Arthur.
"Did you still want me to move my stuff to Ivan's room?"
"No, of course not. I'll put your things back. I shouldn't have made such a mess," Arthur said. Grinning once more, Alfred shot off down the hallway.
"Wow. You two are super gay for each other. Here's that paperwork. Just let me know if any changes need to be made," Yao said, leaving the packet on top of Alfred's fallen suitcase. Arthur flushed in embarrassment.
"Yao! We aren't...that is to say...I'm most definitely not..." Arthur stuttered.
"Tell yourself whatever you like, little boy, but Alfred would most definitely claim you...if he knew what his dick was for, that is," Ivan said with an amused grunt before ambling off down the hall, whistling a creepy tune.
"Well, I'm glad everything seems to have worked out okay," Matthew said, shyly grabbing Francis's hand. The taller boy gave him a soft grin and leaned down to affectionately kiss his cheek.
"I am so glad we can work through our problems civilly, without all this tossing about of clothing. I do not think I could forgive you if you put such awful wrinkles in my clothes. Of course, with the way Alfred dresses, I suppose wrinkles can't do much to make those hideously bland things any worse."
"You can go to your room now, Francis," Arthur growled. Chuckling, the other boys finally deserted the hallway, leaving Arthur alone to reflect as he carefully moved Alfred's possessions back where they belonged.
A/N: Finally a hug! It took them eight freaking chapters, but a hug at last! You have no idea how many times I tried writing in a hug, or an accidental kiss, and I was like 'No! It's not right yet!' but finally, in this chapter, the hug got to stay.
As to side pairings, which have now become an issue since Ivan got too creepy for Toris, I haven't really planned any. I might make a random comment indicating Toris hooked up with his new roomie, but I don't plan to write much about it. Kibacoe wants IvanXYao, which I might be able to swing, but not any time soon. Ivan's gotta get some counseling first, lol. However, a new side pairing will be coming up soon, as Alfred and Berwald get a chance to talk some more...* evil laughter * You can run, Finland, but you can't hide!
On an unrelated note, I've written three chapters today, and I'm about to start the fourth. That's like 40 pages so far. My fingers are starting to cramp up, lol, but I can't stop typing! Oh, and if you want to see a certain scene, feel free to mention it! I'm very flexible with where the chapters go, and I like working in reviewer requests. MataHari-chan has already given me some great ideas for the Halloween chapter, but that's still a bit far off. We're barely done with the first month of school. * sigh * I might need to pick up the pace though, or start skipping stuff, lol. Otherwise, some of my reviewers will probably graduate before these guys do. -_-;