-dodges flying objects directed at her such as knives, forks, rabid creatures, etc.-

I'm sorry, okay? :| School is a bitch, what can I say.

But my girlfran is awesome and inspired me to write more, so. Be happy for that. Also, a bunch of you promised me hugs and cookies if I updated. Several of you also threatened me :D Thank you so much for the reviews, especially because a lot of them are very insightful! Thank you for taking the time to give me feedback, you guys have no idea how much it means to me! (: I love you guys, so enjoy! ;)

"So, what direct object pronoun do we add to the verb for the form 'yo'? Anyone? How about you, Lovino?" Señora Andreas asked evenly, tilting her head and making eye contact with the sulking Italian boy.

"I…don't know…" Lovino mumbled grumpily; if he thought about it, or had been paying attention, he might've been able to figure out the answer, but as it was, Spanish had moved from being his favorite class to his least favorite.

He knew why, but he denied it to himself completely. The truth was, it reminded him of a certain green-eyed Spaniard that he didn't want to think about at all; rationally, of course, he knew that it didn't make any sense to blame Antonio for leaving, but he hadn't seen a glimpse of the young man since the graduation day. His cheeks heated up slightly at the thought. There inlayed another reason that Lovino didn't want to think about Antonio: that foreign feeling he got in the pit of his stomach every time he thought about that evening at the graduation. He swore it off every time, trying to convince himself that his former babysitter had never been anything but a friend, nay, a brother to him. But as of late, he felt an overwhelming amount of shame and embarrassment to admit that he'd been having some rather…strange thoughts about Antonio. His heart fluttered when he pictured those bottle green eyes and bright smile, and he made an oath to himself to never share those thoughts with anyone. Miserably, he told himself that the thoughts would pass; that they were simply his hormones acting up, along with missing his friend dearly. He'd only asked his parents once if he could be given Antonio's number so that he could talk to him, but they'd said that the college student was too busy to deal with the antics of a child. It was now almost halfway through Lovino's school year, and he was already positive that he hated high school. He had barely any of his scarce friends from middle school in his classes, and the workload had only gotten heavier.

The soft dinging on the intercom that indicated the class change interrupted Lovino's thoughts. He silently stood and collected his books, his mind wandering as the other students quickly shuffled out of the classroom.

"Lovino, are you alright?"

The Italian boy looked up to see his Spanish teacher looking at him with a concerned expression.

"I ask because I got a very good recommendation for you from your Spanish teacher from 8th grade, she said you were very good, always did your work and participated in class…she said you were almost a natural. It seems like, even with that excluded, that your performance has been going downhill since the school year started."

Lovino felt tears sting threateningly at his eyes and pulled a sour expression. He hated it when teachers actually showed concern; it made him look like such an asshole. It would be so much better if they just minded their own business…

"I'm fine. I was never that good at Spanish, anyway…Goodbye, Señora." Lovino said curtly, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and clutching the doorknob.

"Lovino." Her voice was soft, and held him in place for a few more seconds. "if you ever need someone to talk to, my door is open."

Lovino nodded at the door, swallowing dryly.

"Thanks."

oOoOo

Lovino sat plastered to the bus window, praying as he did every morning and afternoon that the burly and very intimidating Turkish junior, Sadiq Andnan, would leave him alone. The older male harassed him on a daily basis, with such intelligent insults as derogatory terms for homosexuals and 'guido', which in particular got under Lovino's skin. He had lost his temper and blown up at the bully several times, but had always ended up getting shoved into a wall or something equally painful.

He sighed and bit his lip as he heard Sadiq laughing heartily at some innocent soul he had no doubt just harassed who was a few seats behind Lovino. He shoved the ear buds of his ipod in and sunk farther into the seat, scowling at the window and trying to make himself somewhat invisible. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain.

He gasped slightly when he felt the earbuds ripped out of his ears, his spine snapping straight instinctively as he stared at first, and then glared at the tall and intimidating junior.

"Hey Lola. What's up, fag?" Sadiq asked, amused with himself as a few of his acquaintances chuckled.

Lovino rolled his eyes and sighed, turning to look out the window.

"What do you want?" he said flatly, almost a statement.

Sadiq's eyes flashed. "Now that you ask, sunshine, five bucks couldn't hurt."

Lovino glared at the window, ignoring him. "Screw off, you douche."

He let out a breathy whimper as he felt his shoulder shoved roughly into the metal of the side of the bus, his elbow smashing sharply into his ribs.

"Hey! Cut it out back there, or I'll write you both up!" the bus driver called from the front, clearly unaware of the situation.

"Yeah, jeez, behave yourself, Lola." Sadiq sneered, meandering his way back to the back of the bus.

"I fucking hate this school." Lovino mumbled to himself, rubbing his sore shoulder gingerly.

oOoOo

"Antonio…I love you." Lovino said, burying his face in the other's strong shoulder, hiding it because he was afraid of what the Spaniard would say…

He felt the vibrations of Antonio's chest against his own; he was laughing. Lovino shivered and clenched the fabric of his shirt.

Antonio slipped three fingers under Lovino's chin that were cool to the touch, and lifted it to look at him.

"Te amo también."

Lovino's eyes widened as he translated the sentence in his head, a blush spreading across his cheeks and his jaw hanging slightly agape. He started to stutter out a reply when Antonio suddenly leaned forward, pressing their lips together and moving them slowly and sensually in a way that made Lovino's stomach turn and his spine tingle, and his ears burned against his skull.

Antonio ran a hand through his hair and he let out a small moan that surprised even himself; he had never expected to make such a noise.

"An-Antonio…" he stuttered as the Spaniard pulled away, a hand sliding down to rest at the small of his back. "Is…is th-this wrong? I…I-"

Lovino turned his head away bashfully, although his grip on Antonio's shoulders remained strong. Antonio offered him such a sweet smile that he felt his heart begin to palpitate even more in his chest, and he sucked a sharp breath in as he felt the other's lips graze teasingly over his neck, and then press lightly against his collarbone.

"Nngh…T-Tonio…don't…nngh…" Lovino whimpered, clutching onto the other with everything in him.

Antonio trailed kisses down his neck as his other hand slipped under Lovino's shirt, his warm palm blazing a trail up to his chest, and then down, past his bellybutton, and-

Lovino jerked awake, panting, with a layer of sweat coating his forehead and the majority of his body, making his flannel pajamas stick to his skin uncomfortably. As realization hit him, he fell back into his bed, groaning.

"What the hell!" he whined, covering his eyes with his hands and blushing immensely, suddenly more grateful than ever that humans did not have the ability to mind read. He could never, ever, EVER, let anyone find out about these…interesting dreams.

The worst part was that Romano knew he had enjoyed the dream. The evidence was quite clear, and this was not the first time it had happened. The more he denied it to himself, the more his subconscious mind tortured him. He shoved a pillow into his face, knowing that he would more than likely not be getting anymore sleep for the remainder of the night. After half a minute of jumbled, sporadic thought, Lovino dropped the pillow and stared at his wall.

"Okay, fine." He said to the empty space, plastering his hair back with his palms. "So maybe I like Antonio as more than a friend...or, brother."

The only response he received was the mockingly innocent tick of the clock, and the eerie, insect-less winter silence from outside his window.

"Fine! Maybe I…love him!" Lovino whispered the last part, because by no means was he confessing his love to anyone, only himself.

And even he was having a hard time accepting it.

How did I manage to do this? He thought, turning on his side and playing with the edge of his sheet. How could I fall in love with my babysitter! And he's a man too!

Lovino scowled, reaching for his ipod from his bedside table and shoved the ear buds in, turning it on and starting it on shuffle. There was not much point in trying to sleep now.

When he woke up he realized immediately that if his parents weren't total assholes, today would be a great day to fake being sick. It was only half way through the week and he had a Friday mentality; he was too exhausted to go through another day of school. Hearing someone coming up the stairs and realizing that he was probably about to get yelled at for sleeping in too late, he jumped out of bed, flying across the hallway to the bathroom, and slammed the door loudly. Moving clumsily in his "just-got-out-of-bed" haste, he knocked over several bottles while attempting to grab a cup, which he filled with tap water. He dropped to his knees in front of the toilet and waited until the steps became closer, at which point he made a heaving noise and poured the water into the porcelain toilet bowl, satisfied with the realistic (and disgusting) sound.

A loud banging on the door startled him.

"Are you sick?" his mother's shrill voice yelled through the door, her impatience evident in her tone.

"I think so, I-" He made another heaving noise, pouring the rest of the water into the toilet.

"Oh, for the love of God Lovino, do not get any vomit on my toilet bowl, or I'll make you scrub it all off! Stay home from school today, you don't need to be spreading those germs to everyone." She said, her voice trailing off as she lost interest and walked away.

Lovino said a silent 'Hallelujah' and stood up, yawing and smiling to himself as he opened the door and walked towards his bed, ready to catch up on sleep and eager to miss school.

oOoOo

This time Lovino was jolted awake by the sound of the telephone on his bedside table, ringing shrilly. He opened his eyes slightly and winced at the bright sunlight that blinded him. He rolled over, grunting, and picked up the phone, staring at the dimly lit screen to see the caller I.D. before answering, considering he was supposed to be sick. The number that appeared was one that he didn't recognize at all, and he pondered for the next ring and a half if he should answer it, but then remembered how angry his parents might get if he did not and it turned out to be an important call.

Sighing, he pressed talk and spoke into the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hello." A painfully familiar voice replied. "Mr. Vargas?"

"It's Lovino, his son. Who am I speaking to?" he asked apprehensively, sure that it was someone he knew, but unable to tell because of the slight distortion of the telephone.

"Oh, hi Lovino, how are you? It's Antonio Carriedo!"

Lovino's breath hitched in his throat and his heart skipped a beat, the phone almost slipping from his fingers before he recomposed himself, slightly.

"G-good. I'm…I mean…hi! Uh…I missed…I mean, what's up? I h-haven't talked to you in a while, I was going to call, but mom said you'd be busy, and I guess I just thought maybe I should let you do your college stuff and uh…stuff..aha…ha." Lovino bit down hard on his lip as he simply listened with horror as stuttering and babbling spilled out of his mouth.

"Oh, Lovino, I miss you too!" Antonio said, a smile in his voice as he chuckled slightly, somehow deciphering the meaning behind the other's ramblings, and Lovino blushed lightly.

"So what's up?" Lovino asked in an attempt to be nonchalant, physically willing himself not to stutter.

"Well, like you said, it's been a while. I just wanted to call to say hi, since my winter break started today."

"…Did you forget that I go to school?" Lovino asked, with a smirk, rolling his eyes at Antonio's endearing forgetfulness.

"Well, I guess I kind of assumed you'd be on your break already, too…" his tone was sheepish and…cute? "but either way I was going to try to tell your parents that I was thinking about maybe visiting you guys for a little bit over the break, if that's alright with them."

Lovino's heart pounded in his chest and his breathing sped up as he thought about what Antonio was saying.

"Y-you should!" he said suddenly, cursing the slight stutter. "I mean, I'm sure they wouldn't mind, and…Feli really misses you too, it would be really cool, Tonio!"

The nickname slipped past his lips on impulse, and he immediately regretted saying it, hoping that Antonio wouldn't think he was weird.

"That's great! Yeah, I've been wanting to visit you since I got here, really!" Antonio said, his sunshine laugh ringing on the other end made Lovino's heart ache happily. "So how's school going?"

"It's uh…well, it's school." Lovino laughed lightly, a bit ashamed of the fact that his grades weren't nearly as good as they were when Antonio had been around.

"Ah, gotcha, school is school. Wait, why are you home?" he asked, finally realizing the obvious.

"I'm sick." Lovino lied, there was no point in telling the story.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I hope you get better! Well, I should probably let you get your rest then…"

Don't go… Lovino thought, but realized that it was pointless for the older male to stay on the phone anyway.

"I'll call your parents later this evening and tell them about it. I'll talk to you later, Lovi!" he said cheerfully.

"See you!" Lovino said automatically, waiting for the line to go dead and clutching the phone tightly, his fingers no doubt turning white from the pressure.

He fell back into his bed and bit his lip, and idiotic smile grazing his features. He went over the conversation in his mind, and gasped as he remembered something Antonio had said:

"…I've been wanting to visit you since I got here, really!"

He hadn't said, "you guys" or "you all", he had simply said "you", and even if it had been a mistake, it made Lovino's heart swell and his smile break into a full-fledged grin as he cuddled the phone to his chest in a manner that looked slightly ridiculous, having the mentality of a teenage girl in love.

However, at the moment, he didn't really care.

N'AAAAW LOVI

review please (:

p.s. - to anyone who is offended by the use of the f-word in here (not fuck, the other one) I completely understand, I won't even use it outside of creative writing. :| I hate the term and get called it a lot, and believe me when I say I would never use it; I simply picked it for Sadiq to say to Lovino because of the fact that it's so offensive and I knew it would strike a nerve, which it's supposed to.