Holy crap, it's a long chapter! I swear, my muse for this story just goes up and down...

Without further ado, Chapter five.

WAIT. Forgot something. Ahem, I own nothing but the plot and Spraypaint!

Chapter 5

The Bad Touch... Duo?

When I woke up again, it was morning, and Canada was gone. In fact, the bed was so completely undisturbed, I thought I had dreamed it.

I got up out of bed and changed into regular clothes, a white button-down shirt and blue jeans from Ukraine.

When I couldn't get the smalls buttons to connect, I gave up and threw a black tank top on, wearing the white button-down over it and tying the two ends in the front, just above my rib cage.

I checked myself in the bathroom mirror and saw my eyes were red, slightly puffy from crying. So it was real. I mused, rubbing my eyes until the puffiness went away.

From the kitchen, I could smell something cooking. It smelled like bacon, but a little bit different. I walked out of the bedroom, stretching, and went into the kitchen.

It was a small house, only one story, and had an adjoined kitchen and living room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an attic.

In the kitchen, Canada was already awake and cooking what seemed to be breakfast. The kitchen island had three plates on it, two of which had food on them.

Kumajiro was sitting on a couple of phonebooks on the barstool at the island, eating. Canada must've heard me walk in, for he spun around quickly, startled.

I raised my hands in front of me defensively, "It's just me, Spraypaint." Canada relaxed, "Oh. Glad to see you're up so early, considering you didn't get much sleep last night."

Immediately, I froze. Canada gave me a soft, shy smile, "It's alright, you don't have to talk about it. I used to have bad dreams and wake up in the middle of the night, too."

"Oh." Was all I could say. There was an awkward silence, then Kumajiro broke it by accidentally dropping a bread roll on the floor.

Canada and I both jumped, even though the noise was soft. "I-I made breakfast!" He swept over to the empty plate, then back to the oven, then once again to me.

I could've blinked and missed it, but Canada had filled the plate with food quicker than I could process it.

A smile crossed my face, and I took the plate from him with a small thanks.

Kumajiro was once again sitting on Canada's lap, and Canada and I were sitting at the kitchen island, eating breakfast.

"What's life like in your world?" Canada asked suddenly, sitting up straight. I nearly choked on my bacon. Looking up at him, confusion from his sudden question showed in my voice, "What?"

Canada blushed, "I, uh, mean... Is it different from here?" "Well..." I thought for a moment, "I suppose in some ways it is."

"How so?" He was leaning forward slightly, looking interested in hearing about the alternate dimension. I paused, realizing I didn't have anything to say. Thinking over it, there didn't seem to be many immediate differences.

"Actually, I think our... worlds... are pretty similar. We're a bit more dysfunctional, I guess." Canada looked somewhat disappointed. "Oh." he said, the former enthusiasm gone.

"I can..." Canada's eyes brightened ever so slightly. "I can tell you about my family..." And that was all it took. The familiar twinkle came back. Canada hopped up out of his seat and grabbed my hands, leading me over to the couch and sitting me down.

He then plopped down on the floor in front of me, sitting Indian-style with his chin resting in his hands and Kumajiro in his lap, all in just a second or two.

After a small moment of hesitating, I told him about how I lived in an apartment complex, and how I had to share a room with my baby sister. I told him about Samuel and Emmanuel, who were supposed to go to college next year, and Lydia, my other sister who watched over us. I explained how we had just moved for the fourth time that year, and there were still boxes everywhere.

Canada listened to all of it, showing interest in every little detail, every new subject. I left out the part about my parents fighting when I was little, partly because I was afraid I'd begin to cry again.

But that luck wasn't on my side. Canada noticed the scar on my head and asked how I had gotten it. I went silent, my brain rushing to think of an answer that wouldn't give anything away.

"I tripped and hit my head on a table when I was little." I didn't even realize I had said anything. I nodded once, as if confirming it. Canada seemed to buy it, and I inwardly sighed in relief. It wasn't completely a lie...

Suddenly, Canada noticed the clock and jumped to his feet, "Crap, I have to go!" I slowly stood up as he pulled a red sweater over his head and picked up Kumajiro. "Where are you going?" "The Allies are having a meeting. I really have to be there."

He was about to open the front door when he turned back and looked at me, "I should be back in about three hours. You can just make yourself at home until then." He smiled, "Bye, Spraypaint." And shut the door.

I stood there for a moment, trying to calculate what I should do for three hours. About twenty minutes later, I decided to go outside.

I walked out of the house, scribbling a note for Canada in case I wasn't back before him.

Outside, it was snowing. But the weird thing was, it was only snowing around Canada's house. Right where his yard ended, the snowfall stopped as well.

It took me a minute to find a path through the snow, which went up to my ankles, and wound up following Canada's footprints. Once I was past the yard, I heard a voice call, "Hey, Señorita!"

I spun around, only to see Spain running up to me, waving. He stopped in front of me and paused momentarily to catch his breath. "So, looks like Canada went off on another meeting. Good news for you, cause that means you'll be able to hang out with me and Prussia!" Spain beamed, as if the opportunity to hang out with him was like winning a million dollars.

"So, what do you say, Señorita?" It didn't take me very long to think it over. "Yeah! Sure, it sounds like fun!" I replied. Not like I really had anything else to do, anyways. Spain looked like he was about to jump up and down cheering. "¡Muy bien! Come on, let's go!"

He took my good hand and started running the way he came from, letting me catch up so I could follow him easier.

It took less than a minute to arrive at a park, where I immediately noticed a bunch of cats attempting to catch a small, yellow bird, who was flitting just above their paws and cheeping like mad.

As Spain and I approached, I could see Prussia, who was trying to separate the animals. Prussia was frantically jumping up and down, trying to grab the bird, while simultaneously picking up the various cats and setting them to the side, only to have them start attempting to catch the bird again.

"Prussia!" Spain waved his arm, catching the attention of his friend. As soon as Spain and I walked up, the bird, who I now recognized as Gilbird, dove into Prussia's hair, hiding. The cats, who I assumed were Greece's, did the same; all eight of them darting behind Spain's legs, fur bristled and hissing at me.

"Hey, you found her!" Prussia grinned cheekily at Spain, then turned to me. "Sup, you must be Spraypaint. I'm the awesome Prussia, nice to meet me, the pleasure is yours." I giggled as Spain smacked Prussia's arm, "Prussia! That's no way to greet a lady!"

Prussia was about to reply when one of the cats leapt, landing perfectly on the back of Prussia's head. He shrieked and took off, trying to grab the cat and get it off his head while at the same time trying to protect Gilbird.

"So that's the awesome Prussia, huh?" I looked back at Spain, whose expression had changed from joy to sheer embarrassment. "Sorry about him, Señorita." He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't worry about it." I replied, taking a moment to look around the park. It was placed in a grassy field, partly surrounded by a forest. On one side of the park was a hill, and on the other was a lake.

In the middle of the park, where we were standing, was a miniature playground. It had a single slide, two swing sets with two swings each, monkey bars, and a dome-shaped jungle gym.

"So, I hear you're rooming with Cadana, Señorita." Spain drew my attention back to him. "Canada." I corrected. He didn't seem to notice, and continued talking.

"Shame, really. If I had some extra room, I would've let you live at my place." Spain grinned at me, and I could feel blush crawling involuntarily across my cheeks.

Just then, Prussia came back, cat-free and Gilbird resting atop his head. "Spain, don't be trying to flirt with ze new girl." Spain faked a scowl at his friend, then stuck out his tongue.

"Aw, but c'mon, Prussia, you have to admit Spraypaint is pretty cute, huh?" Throwing his arm around my shoulders, Spain only made me blush harder. I ducked under his arm and stepped to the side, spinning ever so slightly so I was almost standing in between Prussia and Spain.

"C'mon, guys, Spain must've brought me over here for a reason!" I laughed. The countries nodded, as if just remembering something. "Close your eyes and vait here, ve'll be right back."

I did so, putting my good hand over my eyes, and waited. I could hear footsteps, whispering, and the rustling of fabric. Moments later, something was slipped over my head and my broken arm was moved slightly.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." I heard Prussia say. When I did, then first thing I noticed was the brightly colored fabric wrapped around my arm.

It was a sling, made of the most vivid shade of violet I had ever seen, with little skulls and black hearts patterned on it. I suddenly realized I recognized the pattern from somewhere.

"Are... Are these my pajamas?" I glanced up at Prussia and Spain, who both immediately avoided eye contact with me, looking sheepish.

"Ven you vere in the hospital, zey had to cut off most of ze pajama shirt to fix your arm, und lung, und ribcage." Prussia explained, "So France, Spain, and I made a sling out of it."

I broke into a smile, bounding forward to wrap them each in a hug. "Thank you, guys!"

Two days I had been conscious, and I had already said 'thank you' more times than I could count, broke down in front of Canada, and now was wearing a sling made out of pajamas. However long it would take to get me back home, I could tell it was going to feel like forever.

Suddenly, the happy moment was interrupted by England and Russia approaching us. England had a solemn look on his face, while Russia was smiling indifferently.

"Ah, Spraypaint, I believe we have a problem." England began, trailing off and looking at Russia expectantly, as if expecting him to finish the sentence. When he didn't, the Brit carried on.

"It's about the whole 'dimensional thing'. Since it was an accident, Russia can't remember the incantation he used to open the portal, and we can't find it in any of the books."

My eyes were slowly getting bigger as England continued to talk. My mind kept jumping to the worst things that could've happened, but the worst-case-scenarios also seemed to be the most likely.

"What're you saying?" Spain asked from behind me. England took a deep breath and let it out, "I'm afraid we can't get you home, Spraypaint. It's impossible."

My jaw went slack, and I felt myself getting dizzy from shock, "Wh-what?" "We're really sorry, Spraypaint. Russia and I will keep trying, but so far there's nothing we can do to get you home."

Spain and Prussia had stepped up next to me, with each of them placing a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. I felt like I couldn't breath. No way home? It couldn't be. There had to be a way! But I kept my mouth shut anyways.

Russia and England had already began to walk off again, but Russia quickly turned back to me, "I hope you're good at adapting to new place. It'll help for now, da, Spreepint?" I didn't feel like telling him he pronounced my name wrong.

Once they had left, Prussia finally spoke, "Zis is so not awesome..." Spain nodded in agreement, "We're really sorry, Señorita." Spain echoed England.

I couldn't bring myself to acknowledge either of them. I was never going home. That was it. I would never see my brothers, or Aisling, or Lydia ever again.

Russia's words rang in my head, and, the more I mulled it over, the more I seemed to accept it. I would just have to get used to living in a world like this.

A world that wasn't even supposed to exist.

Aw, Spain is so cuuute! And then bad news. Nice job ruining the moment, England.