Chapter 38
The arrival of spring at World Academy was celebrated with a troupe of famous political guest speakers, a school tour of Westminster Abbey, and preparations for the World Fair. All of these events coincided with election campaigns for student council, which meant Arthur, Yao, and Basch were extremely busy with council business, so much so that Arthur had quit football practice.
Alfred was a little glad of that—not because he was doing anything inappropriate with Kiku, but it was a little awkward now whenever the three of them were in the same room together. Perhaps because of that fact, Kiku had stopped attending student council meetings just as Arthur had dropped football.
Since the unspoken confession on Valentine's Day, Alfred had been walking on eggshells around Kiku, not quite sure what to say and usually making the situation even worse.
"So…nervous about the game?" Alfred asked. Kiku glanced at him and then moved to refill his water bottle at the cooler. They'd been playing hard, but Kiku played the hardest. It seemed as though he was pouring himself into football, perhaps to escape his own feelings.
"Not really," he replied quietly, taking a sip of water. Alfred bit his lip, occupying himself by playing with a ball that had rolled near his feet.
"How did your date go?" Alfred asked, a little hopeful looking. Kiku sighed in a slightly annoyed fashion.
"You paid someone to ask me out. How do you think it went?" Kiku asked with a small measure of reproach in his tone.
"He seemed cool, though! And he's Korean. You love Korean dramas."
"I loved watching them with you, Alfred. Please…you don't have to act this way around me. I have feelings for you, but you are happy with Arthur, right?"
"Well yeah, but…"
"Then that is all there is to it. It was wrong of me to try and win your affection. When I first came here, I was a little jealous of Arthur. His parents and family live right here, while I am very far from my home. He excels in class without much effort. He took charge in student council when I was too embarrassed to even speak. He joined the rugby team and instantly became the star, and he snagged the cutest boy in school before I even figured out who you were. I think…somewhere along the way…it became less about a crush on you, and more about a competition with Arthur."
"Wow…didn't see that one coming," Alfred replied. He was shocked that Kiku had spoken so much, but relieved that the other boy didn't seem too crushed over being turned down.
"I have learned a lot this year. It was…not what I expected," Kiku concluded quietly. Alfred got the impression the other boy thought about things a lot more deeply than he did, and was likely already neatly categorizing the crazy year into lessons learned and mistakes not to be made again.
Alfred, for his part, felt grateful that he'd merely survived. He knew he had changed significantly, and his relationships with his peers had changed, too, but it seemed too impossible to pin down hows or whys.
"Do you think next year will be this hard?" Alfred asked, kicking the ball up idly into his arms. Kiku flashed him a small smile.
"I have heard it's a little easier next year. At least, that is what the counselor tells me," Kiku said, taking another long sip from his water bottle.
"Speaking of counselors, have you done your academic advising session yet?" Alfred asked. He didn't share many classes with Kiku, and before things had gotten so messy, they had both expressed the desire to take more classes together in their sophomore year. Alfred didn't see why that should change as long as it wasn't too difficult for Kiku. He seemed okay with everything, at the very least.
"I have not. I would still be interested in taking that elective course on painting with you…if you'd like," Kiku said. Alfred beamed.
"Yeah! Arthur's gonna be really proud of me for taking an art class. I'm still playing football next year, though—American football, not soccer," Alfred said.
"Good. I enjoy watching you play. You have great heart," Kiku praised. Alfred smiled brightly and lightly tossed Kiku the ball.
"You too! Now are you gonna teach me that trick or what?" Alfred asked, and in his mind, all was once again right with the world. Kiku smiled, and if he was a little heartbroken, he didn't let Alfred see.
USUK
Matthew was not in student council, nor any really demanding extracurricular activities for that matter, but he did have an obligation that had been keeping him incredibly busy as of late.
He carefully glanced down the empty hallway, making sure the coast was clear, before ducking into the empty classroom.
"Hey teddy bear," Gilbert greeted with a wicked smile of delight. Mattie flushed under the hot gaze and cleared his throat nervously.
"I heard about your t-test scores. I'm really p-proud of you, Gilbert," Mattie said, managing to get the compliment out without too much of a stutter. Gilbert's smile changed—it was more sincere—and the platinum haired skater stood smoothly and crossed the room.
"It's all because of you, teddy bear," Gilbert said, his reddish eyes glinting with a mixture of mischief and delight. Matthew blushed and took a step backwards, not wanting to get too close. Gilbert followed him. "Come on, let me thank you properly," he suggested.
"N-no, Gilbert, I've told you a thousand times…that's not what this is about," Matthew said.
"Yeah yeah—you want to be a teacher, so you want the tutoring experience. You've given me the official story before."
"And it hasn't changed, so let's sit down and get started, okay?" Mattie said. Gilbert gave a long, dramatic sigh of disappointment and returned to sitting atop a desk, crossing his arms casually over his rock band T-shirt.
"Alright, let's talk some French," Gilbert said. Knowing this was about as agreeable as Gilbert would be, Matthew hastily pulled the beginning French text book from his backpack and flipped it open to their most recent chapter. As he was hunched over the text, searching for the spot on the list of verbs where they had last left off, a hand suddenly splayed in front of his vision on the page. Matthew let out a little squeak of surprise and shot up, only to realize Gilbert's face was just inches from his own.
"Y-yes?" Matthew asked hesitantly. Gilbert stared at him for a long time, considering his soft hair and his warm eyes.
"I changed my mind. I passed my test—I want to celebrate with my tutor."
"What? No, I can't 'celebrate' with you again—I'm not using pot anymore. It was fun that first time, but it's really bad for you and it kills brain cells and—"
"Who said anything about pot? Can't we just go hang out? Or does your boyfriend not let you do that?" Gilbert asked smoothly. Matthew blinked in surprise.
"You want to…hang out? With me? But…why?" Mattie asked. Gilbert shrugged.
"Dunno, actually. You're kinda boring, and you care way too much about your prissy boyfriend, and you have horrible taste in music…but I like you. You don't suck as bad as most of the asstards in this school," Gilbert declared, even as he re-packed Mattie's bag. "So come on—we're gonna go out tonight."
"I can't…I can't do that, Gilbert. Francis would be hurt, and—"
"Then invite him, too. Whatever, man. It's not a date. I know you hang out with a bunch of queers most of the time, but dudes can go hang out without butt fucking each other at the end of the night, ya know."
Blushing hotly, Matthew hesitated. It was stupid, and he didn't even like Gilbert, not really, but…all the same…he wanted to accept the other boy's invitation. He desperately wanted to accept it. So what could it hurt? What was the worst that could happen? Francis could get mad at him for even asking, but at least he'd asked, right?
Gilbert found his phone in his backpack (scowled at the teddy bear charm hanging off of it ever-so-innocently) and flipped it open.
"Gilbert! Don't!"
"Hey! Frenchie? That you? Yeah, so I'm here trying to convince teddy bear to get outta this lame school for once in his life, and he's afraid to go have fun without you, so if you wanna come hang with us, meet us at the front of the school in ten, okay? Later!" And just like that, Gilbert snapped Mattie's phone shut.
Matthew swallowed thickly. Gilbert smiled.
"So let's go already—there's a concert going down at a pub not too far from here, and you don't have to be eighteen to get in."
"That…actually doesn't sound so bad," Mattie said. He walked with Gilbert to the front of the school, wondering how Francis was going to respond when he inevitably joined them. Then again, he was in a student council meeting and he might not be able to get out of it…
Matthew's phone rang again, and this time Mattie managed to answer it before Gilbert could steal it again.
"Mon cher?"Francis's voice queried. He sounded both angry and concerned at the same time. Matthew winced, and scowled at Gilbert for putting him in his current predicament.
"It's me. I'm sorry about that. I…well…it's kind of a long story, but Gilbert wants me to go see some concert with him at a pub in London. I told him I'd only go if you came, too."
"That's…sweet, Matthew. Though I'm not sure why you're talking to him at all in the first place," Francis replied. Matthew kept silent, hoping he'd be able to gloss over that part.
"Heh, like I said…long story. It's funny actually. You see, I was…err…walking down the hallway, and he was, you know, coming the other way…and…then he asked me to go."
"…Is that it? Because that's neither long nor funny," Francis replied, a small measure of suspicion coloring his tone.
"A-are you gonna come or not? C-cause I really want to go," Matthew finally said, surprising Gilbert with his burst of forcefulness. The skater smirked at him in a proud sort of way. After Francis gave his reply, Matthew closed the phone and let out a sigh.
"Well?"
"He's coming. He'll meet us there," Matthew said. Gilbert's proud smirk turned mischievous.
"That was a big deal for you, huh? Talking to him like that?" Gilbert clarified. Mattie blushed and clutched his book bag strap a little tighter.
"N-no…not really. I mean, he doesn't control me or anything. I'm just not a very forceful person," Mattie said quietly. "Francis usually picks what we do, that's all. As long as I'm with him, I'm happy to—what? Why are you making that face?"
"Oh, continue. I'm just barfing a little in my mouth," Gilbert said with a sweet, fake smile. Matthew rolled his eyes.
"Someone like you wouldn't understand. Relationships aren't evil. It's really nice having someone that cares about you."
"A-huh," Gilbert replied patronizingly. Matthew flushed with color.
"It is. Everything's just a big j-joke to you. You don't care about anything other than pot," Matthew replied frostily. He really didn't like the way Gilbert teased him, and a huge part of him wondered why he gave the other boy so many opportunities to do so.
"That's not true," Gilbert said, his voice suddenly turning serious. He paused in the hallway, turning to face Matthew straight on. The Canadian boy took a half-step backwards in surprise, and Gilbert reached out with surprising tenderness. He lightly trailed his fingers over Mattie's jaw (the nails of which were painted in chipped black nail polish) and gave him a strangely soft smile.
"Don't you see? I care about you."
For a long, breathless moment Mattie stood frozen, not sure what to do, feeling his world shake at the foundations…but then he noticed Gilbert's barely restrained smirk. He shoved the taller boy back as hard as he could manage.
"You're a jerk! Stop making fun of me because I believe in love!" Matthew scolded. Gilbert, however, cracked up at the hilarity of his own joke and greatly resembled a silver-haired hyena for a few seconds before he finally recovered. Matthew walked ahead at a faster pace, threatening to leave him behind. "I'm serious, Gilbert. If you're just going to be a d-dick about it, then I won't celebrate with you. I don't care how proud I am of you for making an 'A' on the test."
Gilbert's manic laughter softened into an amused smile and he jogged to catch up.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing you if you stop going all sappy over Frenchie," Gilbert offered. Matthew sighed, but reluctantly shook the other boy's hand. By then, they had reached the front of the school and Francis was already there—looking concerned that maybe they'd left without him.
"Matthew!" he said, upon seeing their approach. The relief in his voice was evident. He scowled darkly at Gilbert as he wrapped Matthew up in a one-armed hug and pressed a kiss to his forehead—all the while glaring at the eyesore of a skater punk.
"Relax, Frenchie, I haven't hurt your precious teddy bear, or exposed him to illegal substances, or let him suck my awesome dick," Gilbert reassured. Matthew winced, and Francis's hold on him grew uncomfortably tight.
"Mon cher, let's forget this. If you want to see a concert, I will get you tickets to any show in the world—back stage passes even. Just name the band and we'll go. You really do not have to suffer this idiot's company and stand in some disgusting, overcrowded English pub for the sake of a shitty band," Francis said, snobbery dripping off every word. Matthew scowled in irritation and untangled himself from Francis's arms.
"Francis, you may be dripping in money, but I'm not, and I can't afford to jet off whenever I feel like it. I like to do free things around town, and I really haven't seen much of London. All we ever do is go shopping," Matthew complained. Gilbert rolled his eyes in annoyance, as if regretting inviting the both of them. Francis scowled at him.
"But, darling, you like shopping."
"Yeah, but we can do other things, too. Please, Francis? Let's pretend we're normal teenagers for just this one night, okay?" Matthew's pleading eyes did Francis in, and with a scowl he hailed a cab.
"Fine, if you want to go slumming, slumming we shall go," Francis said. "It's not like I was doing anything better tonight anyway," he added.
"How's planning going for the World Fair?"
"Oh! Let's talk about what you're reading in book club next!" Gilbert interjected with girlish giggle and an exaggerated bounce of excitement. "Then we can swap recipes for cookies and talk about boys!"
"Get in the cab, Gilbert," Matthew ordered, wondering what on earth had possessed him to go out in public with both Francis and Gilbert on the same night. Nothing good was going to come of it, that he was already realizing. Once in the cab, sandwiched awkwardly between the two boys who were as different as night and day, Matthew resorted to playing with his phone while Francis and Gilbert bickered over his head.
"Just why exactly are you always hanging around my boyfriend? Are you gay for him or something?" Francis asked casually. The cab driver glanced briefly at them in the rear view mirror, but his eyes quickly flicked back to the road. Matthew went back to texting Alfred, wishing he could sink into his seat and disappear.
"I can't tell you. He swore me to secrecy," Gilbert replied cheekily. Francis scowled at him.
"You're lying. My Matthew wouldn't make secrets with you."
"Oh yeah? Well my teddy bear gets sick of you carrying him around in your purse all the time like he's a toy dog. Do you dress him up, too?" Gilbert shot back. Francis sneered, and Mattie only just managed to send Alfred the text about the concert before Francis lunged over him to shove Gilbert, knocking Mattie's phone out of his hands in the process.
"Francis!" Matthew said in exasperation, pushing Francis back to his seat and fumbling around for his phone. While he was bent forward, Gilbert nodded towards his ass and made a vulgar gesture with his tongue. When Matthew sat back up, Francis was glaring at the other boy so intensely that Matthew feared a fight was about to break out.
"Both of you, just stop already! Francis, just ignore him. He's just trying to rile you up. And Gilbert? If you really want to hang out with me, you're going to have to be just a little bit more mature."
For a tense few moments there was silence in the cab, and Matthew let out a shaky breath of air.
"So…like…how does this shit work?" Gilbert said, clearly unable to deal with more than a minute of silence.
"How does what work?" Francis demanded snippily, clearly expecting a jab about homosexual relationships.
"You know…threesomes and shit. He's gonna be in the middle, right? 'Cause my dick's made for fuckin,' and my ass is an exit only."
"GILBERT!" Matthew exploded, uncharacteristically loud. Francis, however, was now smirking in amusement.
"I thought we were ignoring him?" Francis parroted Mattie's own words back to him. Matthew, however, was blushing so hotly that both Gilbert and Francis began to laugh at him.
"Mon cher…is that what you've been scheming? You want to…spice things up a bit?" Francis asked. Matthew went from bright red to unnatural paleness. On his right, he had Francis's leering eyes and lecherous grin, and on his left, Gilbert was scooting closer and flashing that wicked smile.
"This isn't happening," Mattie said weakly, his voice barely above a whisper. Meeting Gilbert's eyes, Francis tucked a lock of hair lovingly behind Mattie's ear.
"Though I question his taste, I can't say that I object to the idea. He's mine, of course. This would just be for fun…"
"There is someone else in this cab. Am I the only one that realizes that?" Mattie asked weakly. Gilbert's delighted smirk met Francis's look of perverted glee and Matthew felt two hands land on him almost simultaneously. On his shoulder, the warm, familiar caress of his boyfriend…on his inner thigh, the large, callused hand of his crazy student.
It seemed Francis and Gilbert had finally found their common ground—money and style aside, they were both just kinky perverts at heart.
Matthew's phone vibrated in his hand and he flipped open the screen almost desperately. Alfred's reply was like salvation in text format.
Cool! Artie's taking me to the concert, too. See ya there?
Before Francis could stop him, Matthew desperately texted, Yes, and I need your help!
"Now now, mon cher, that was naughty. You don't really want Alfred getting involved in our fun, do you? He'll ruin it," Francis pouted. The hand slid from his shoulder to the sensitive nape of his neck, and Francis's convincing purr was right against his ear.
The cab rolled to a stop and Gilbert hopped out, tossing the cab driver his fee before all but pulling Mattie out.
"Come on, teddy bear. I'm going to grind on you for everyone to see—including your golden boy."
"G-guys, it's not f-funny anymore! I'm glad you're not fighting, but we aren't going to—" Matthew's protest was swiftly ended by the way Francis slipped one hand into his back pocket and gave his ass a squeeze. Gilbert silenced him by boldly stealing a kiss, scandalously sucking on Mattie's tongue even as his eyes shifted challengingly to Francis's. The French boy just smirked, delighting in the hot flush on Mattie's skin and his wide eyed look of shock. He pressed his lips against Mattie's neck and nibbled his way up, whispering to him even as Gilbert continued ravaging his mouth.
"I'm ever so glad you called. You planned this, didn't you? You're so fucking sexy when you pretend to be innocent," Francis purred. Gilbert finally released Matthew's lips with a wet sounding smack. He licked his own grin, looking very much like a cat who'd caught his canary.
"Innocent? This one? Fuck no. You know what—that's what it is. That's what I like about you, teddy bear. You're so goody-two-shoes…but you've got pretty little slut written all over you."
And god help him, with both the stars of his wet dreams staring at him like they were going to eat him for dessert, Matthew was starting to feel the wild thing inside him beating furiously against his ribcage, desperate to be set loose. Did he really want Alfred to go all big brother on his misbehaving boyfriend and his wayward student?
After Gilbert's kiss, and with that hand caressing and squeezing at his ass so knowingly—so possessively, Matthew wasn't so sure that he did.
"F-fine…but I don't want anyone to know. Our classmates are here, so that means you have to back off Gilbert…at least until we get back to our room."
"That's no fair! How come he gets to play and I don't?" Gilbert pouted. Francis stuck out his tongue in what could only be called the epitome of maturity.
"My boyfriend, stoner—not yours."
"Just come on, already. Let's see this stupid band so we can get back to the school!" Matthew said, surprising both his companions for the evening and leaving them to share their looks of surprise as he stomped off without them.
"I still think you're a stuck-up pretty boy," Gilbert clarified.
"And you're still a brain-dead stoner," Francis replied. Despite their harsh words, the boys exchanged anticipatory smirks.
USUK
Alfred smiled brightly when he spotted his friend, who looked a little flustered.
"Hey Mattie! Having fun? What was that text about?" Alfred asked, having to raise his voice over the sound of the band.
"Oh…j-just joking around. I'm here with Francis and Gilbert and they were being stupid," Matthew said, his blush darkening. Alfred, thankfully, didn't notice such things.
"Ah, okay then. Gilbert, huh? And Francis is okay with that?" he asked. Before Matthew could reply, Arthur appeared at Alfred's side and looped his arm around the taller boy's hips. He looked like he'd been thoroughly enjoying the music—his hair was wild and his green eyes were brighter than Matthew had ever seen them. Clearly he'd been dancing, too, as he looked sweaty and thirsty. Matthew squinted in the poor pub lighting, trying to discern if Arthur was really wearing eyeliner, but after casually greeting him, the British royal took the drink from Alfred's hand and chugged it.
"Easy, Artie. Don't waste all your energy on the opening songs—the concert's still going for another hour!"
"Really? That long?" Matthew said, sounding slightly horrified. Finally, Francis and Gilbert appeared at his sides, and slightly awkward greetings were exchanged.
"Never thought I'd see you here," Gilbert said to Arthur, eyeing his eye-liner, his studded outfit, and his wild green eyes. Next to him, Alfred looked totally clean cut and out of place, but the tall athlete seemed to be having a good time regardless. While he obviously didn't care either way for the music, he was enjoying fetching Arthur drinks and watching his boyfriend have so much fun.
"Yeah, well, you don't have to make terrible grades and smoke weed all the time to appreciate good music," Arthur replied a little disdainfully. Alfred eyed Gilbert with sudden intensity, his eyes slipping between Matthew and Gilbert in a way that made Matthew incredibly nervous.
The song changed, the tense moment passed, and whatever epiphany Alfred had been grasping at escaped him.
"Arthur likes to be up close to the stage. You guys coming with?" Alfred asked. Arthur was already tugging him back towards the packed crowd up front.
"No, we'll hang back I think. Have fun," Matthew said. He realized with surprise that the last possible person who could have bailed him out had just walked away.
"You didn't tell on us?" Francis asked. Mattie glanced at his boyfriend in shy embarrassment.
"We…um…don't have to stay for the whole hour, do we?" he offered by way of answer. The sexy boys accompanying him for the night shared devilish grins.
"Nah…this band sucks anyway. Let's have a few rounds of drinks and then we can go, yeah?" Gilbert suggested, flashing his fake I.D. at them mischievously.
Grateful for the liquid courage, Matthew accepted his drink and nearly chugged it as quickly as Arthur had chugged his soda minutes before.
Up at the stage, Alfred glanced back a bit uneasily at Matthew.
"Hey, did you get a…I dunno…weird vibe from them?" Alfred asked. Arthur reluctantly turned around and glanced at the trio over the crowd.
"I always get a creepy vibe from Gilbert. It's probably something kinky and gross," Arthur said. Alfred's eyes widened in recognition and a boyish giggle escaped him.
"You don't think…all three of them?"
"What? Oh god. You're probably right, by why the hell did you have to share that particular image? I mean…that's not something you'd ever want to do…right?"
"Huh? No way! I wouldn't share you with anyone…but I can't believe Mattie would…"
"Well we don't know for sure, so let's not gossip like girls about it. What they do in their bedroom is their business and none of ours," Arthur replied, going back to his slightly awkward, totally endearing way of dancing to the music. Alfred watched him out of the corner of his eye, smiling in a way that was only a little bit lovesick. A burly guy suddenly pushed into Arthur harder than was necessary and before Arthur could even snap at him, Alfred was between them, squaring off against the older man.
"Hey! Watch it!" Alfred growled protectively. The heavily tatted man just sneered and turned away, not interested in picking a fight with a teenager and landing himself in jail. Alfred turned back to Arthur, who flashed him a loving little grin.
"I could have handled it myself, you know," Arthur said. Alfred just grinned and kissed his boyfriend's cheek.
"Yeah…but that's my job. You just worry about your…err…dancing. If that's what you call that jerking, jumping thing you're doing," Alfred teased. Playfully, because the rock music seemed to bring out something fun spirited and youthful in Arthur, he stuck out his tongue at Alfred and went back to his jumping about and his out-of-rhythm fist pumping. Alfred just laughed and shook his head, happy to see Arthur cutting loose.
A/N: Mattie hadn't made an appearance lately, so I wanted to let you guys know what he's been up to. Honestly, I was planning for it to be a Gilbert Francis love triangle, but when I started writing the chapter, I was like 'I really don't think Gilbert would want a relationship—at least not at sixteen.' So it morphed pretty naturally into the sort of thing both Gilbert and Francis would be interested in at sixteen, and as for poor Matthew…well, I don't think he's all that upset about how things worked out.
And no, I didn't go into the details of the threesome because some things are just better left to the imagination, lol! Oh, and I'm sure some of you will feel the territory of threesomes is pretty "adult," and I agree, however, I heard about a few when I was in high school (and participated in one *cough cough*) so it does happen, and younger and more often than you might think. If you didn't like the idea, of course, you're still more than welcome to say so!