Marcy

I stared out the passenger side window, absorbed in the moving scenery. Matthew seemed a bit nervous, so I decided to let him drive and not bother him. Besides, I had unnecessary research to conduct. I'd googled popular Canadian artists and had made it my goal to listen to the interesting ones before we hit the border. I sighed happily. This past week had been so hectic and wild, in a good way, but still. Having the entire day taken up with driving was beautiful. I loved long car trips.

"You okay?" I just barely heard Matt over the music.

I pulled out an earbud and said, "Couldn't be better," I replied, "You?"

"O-oh, I'm fine," he answered quietly. He looked a little uneasy.

"Hey, if you want, I can drive," I said, "Got my license and stuff."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind driving. It's kind of relaxing."

I smiled, "Agreed. Although, to be honest, when I first started driving, I was a nervous wreck. But my brother was there for me. He teased me a lot, but he never freaked out or tried to act like Dad… It really helped. I kinda miss him." A second later, I realized what I'd said and smiled, "Heh, sorry. I went off on a tangent."

"No, it's okay," Matt said, "I'm just glad you're talking. I thought you might be sick or bored or something."

"I'm not easily bored," I said, "And I don't get car sick."

Matt nodded, looking up at the clouds. It was beginning to snow. "Hope it doesn't get too bad for Al and Dia," he said, "There's supposed to be some snow, but nothing too serious."

Another moment of silence. I was about to put my earbud back in and play another song when Matthew asked, "So, what are you listening to?"

I blushed and chuckled, "Well, it's kinda silly, but I'm listening to a bunch of Canadian bands. I thought it'd be nice to listen to what you listen to." I twirled a strand of red hair around my finger. "It sounds dumb out loud."

"No, no, no," Matt assured, "It's really nice of you. If you want, I could show you some of my favorites."

"Sure," I said, still a little embarrassed. He pulled a cd out of the front seat visor and popped it in. "So this band is called Rush and one of my favorite songs by them is By-Tor and the Snow Dog. It's eight and a half minutes long, is that okay?"

"How far are we from Ottawa?" I asked.

He shrugged, "About three and a half hours."

"Yeah, I think we have enough time." I smiled.

Matthew nodded a 'fair enough' and started the song up. After that, he seemed a bit more relaxed. Other than a quick stop at a drive thru and a passport check, we spent the rest of the ride listening to Canada-the-person's top favorite artists.

xxxxx

Diana

"…and that's why there's a handful of us that have to get together every week or so and talk about country stuff! It's great, because then I get to share my awesome ideas with the rest of the world! Although they never seem to realize just how great they are."

"I can only imagine," I said with a smile, trying to picture what on earth America-personified's ideas would look like. Probably lots of color.

Alfred hit the steering wheel with his palm. "Dude! I just had an AWESOME idea! You don't HAVE to imagine, you can come!"

I looked at Alfred in surprise. "Really? That's… ok?"

"It is if I say it is!" He cheered.

"But these meetings seem kind of… important. Exclusive."

"Psshhh, Naw! If anyone has a problem with it, they'll have to take it up with ME!" Alfred stuck out his thumb at himself.

"Has any other country ever brought a… civilian… to one of these meetings?"

"Nope! America will be the first! Just like in a lot of other things. Like the moon landing and Walmart!"

"Hmm." I mused a few moments, concerned with just how taboo attending the meeting would be. If I went, it would be with Marcy, and for her benefit mostly. But if it just ended up making a bunch of other nations mad, or even just annoying them, I didn't want Marcy to be in the middle of that. "I don't know, Alfred…" I mumbled.

"What?" He asked too loudly.

My hands tightened and loosened and I stared forward. I didn't want to outright say no. Not if I had to spend another four hours in the car with him. My mind searched for a change of topic. It settled on the moon landing.

It called to mind a country I hadn't met yet.

"Hey Alfred, how come I didn't see Russia at the party?"

Alfred's mood change was sudden and drastic.

"Cuz' there's no way in hell I'd invite that creepy bastard to any party," Alfred growled through his teeth.

Alright, then.

"Sorry I asked," I mumbled.

Alfred didn't take notice. "Hey, you know what? I'm STARVING."

"Let's find a McD's then," I said.

The smile he gave me could have lit a forest at midnight.

xxxxx

Marcy

"Marcy," Matt whispered, gently shaking my shoulder.

"Mhn?" I mumbled.

"We're here."

I blinked my bleary eyes and looked out the window to see a large Victorian style two story brick house. I stepped out of the warmth of the car and into the freezing.

"My goodness," I said, tugging my toque to cover my ears, "It's gotta be, like 20 degrees out here."

"Actually, it's negative 6 or so," Matt said.

I turned to look at him in disbelief, then noticed his playful smile.

I narrowed my eyes. "Celsius?"

He nodded, smile growing bigger. I laughed and reached for my and Dia's bags. He beat me to them.

"I got it," he said, "You're my guest, I'll carry your luggage."

"Are you sure I can't help?" I asked.

"Really, it's no trouble," he replied, "You don't have that much and it isn't very heavy."

"Okay," I said. I took a deep breath in, the cold hurting my throat just a bit. The snow was falling heavily now and clinging to everything it touched.

"Let's get inside," Matt said, moving to the door.

"Why?" I teased, "Are you cold?"

"No, but you're lips are turning purple," he replied, "And I've got hot chocolate inside."

"Should've opened with that," I said, jogging a bit to catch up with him. He sat down a bag at the door to get out his keys and unlock the door. I grabbed the bag's handle and gave him a maniacal chuckle.

"Haha, mine now!"

He smiled and shook his head as he pushed open the door. I stepped inside and looked around. To my left were a set of stairs leading to the second floor. In front of me, a was a living room with a three person couch, recliner, and tv. The floor was a dark brownish red wood, but most of it was taken up by a massive shaggy tan rug. On the couch were a few pillows and a…

"Is that a polar bear?" I asked, my voice an octave or two higher than normal.

The bear turned and looked at me. It stood on two legs, walked over, and said, "Who are you?" in a clear, child-like voice.

"Uh, I'm Marcy," I said, still very stunned.

He turned to Matthew, "And who are you?"

"I'm Canada," Matt answered a bit tiredly, then turned to me.

"Marcy, this is Kumashira-,"

"Kumajiro," the bear corrected.

"Right, Kumajiro. Neither of us can remember the other's names."

Confusion overdose led to unquestioned acceptance.

Default emotion: "D'aww" activated.

"Oh my gosh you're really really cute!" I practically squealed, "Can I pet you?"

"Sure!" Kumajiro replied, climbing back onto the couch. I sat down beside him and ran my hand through his soft, snowy white fur. I looked up at Matt who was on his phone. He seemed worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The snowstorm's getting pretty bad," he answered, sitting down beside me. "They're saying it might become a full blown blizzard."

I frowned, "I hope Dia and Al get here first."

He nodded, "I hope so too."

xxxxx

Diana

"This snow's getting pretty bad," Alfred remarked with a hint of concern.

The sun had set, and his windshield wipers were going at full speed. Still, we could barely see anything ahead of us.

"If this keeps up, we might have to call Matt and tell him we're gonna be late."

"I'll do it," I said, unplugging his iPhone 6 from the auxiliary chord and looking through the contacts. "I'm guessing Canada is 'Brosef'?" I asked a bit dryly.

"Haha, yep!"

I hit the button to call, but then a "no signal" warning appeared.

"Hmm."

"What is it?"

"I think the storm's messing with the cellphone service. There's no signal."

"Well crap," Alfred mused. "Now all we need is a serial killer."

I glanced at him with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

Up ahead, a small blur of light broke through the haze. Except…

"Shit!"

A horn blared. The jeep swerved out of the way of the oncoming truck, jolting as it went over the shoulder. Alfred expertly steered it back onto the road, his expression like stone. The jeep then slowed and, much more deliberately, pulled over onto the shoulder and stopped.

"It's officially snowing too hard to drive." Alfred decreed with a frown.

I sighed and settled back into my seat, stuffing my hands into my jacket pockets.

It was going to be a long night.

xxxxx

Marcy

The power went out. Kumajiro and I were in Matt's study, going through books I might like to read, when the lights flickered off.

"Hey, Kuma?" I said, feeling around for his fluffy head. It was pitch black. "You wouldn't happen to have nightvision, would you?"

"Yes," he replied, grabbing my wandering hand and leading me to the door. Before he could open it, Matthew walked in, flashlight pointed right at me.

"Ah," I said flatly, "Bright light. In eyes. Going blind."

"Oh, sorry," Matt said, point the light at the floor, "I didn't think you'd be right at the door, eh?"

"Who are you?" Kuma asked.

"Canada," Matthew replied, picking up the bear and handing me a flashlight. "Let's go back to the living room," he said. I followed him closely, shining the flashlight ahead of him.

"Did Al and Dia make it?" I asked.

Matthew shook his head, "No. I sent Al a text, but it wouldn't go through. Then the power died." He looked worried, almost scared.

I put a hand on his shoulder and said softly, "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure they're safe. Alfred's excitable but he's not stupid, and Dia is pretty amazing in emergency situations. They probably pulled over and are gonna wait it out. Better yet, they were probably at a gas station and decided to stay inside until it blows over."

That calmed him down a bit, but it only made me think of all the worst possible things were. They could've gotten into a wreck, accidentally driven off a bridge, gotten into a wreck that knocked them off a bridge, hit a moose and fallen off a bridge…

I pushed all of those thoughts away. Whatever was happening, they're probably safe. There's no way any of those bad things could happen. Well, maybe the moose one. Do moose hang out on bridges? During blizzards?

No, stop. Stop thinking bad things, they're fine.

Before I could think up anything else ridiculous, I asked Matt, "So, got any board games?"

xxxxx

Diana

If I had to listen to "Party in the USA" one more time, I was going to throw Alfred's iPhone through the iced-over window.

I absently watched the snow buzzing by the headlights. It had started piling up against the windshield in small black mounds. I shrunk a bit further into my jacket, praying that the gas gauge was wrong.

"Maybe you should turn down the heater," I suggested over the beginning of "Get this Party Started."

Alfred looked at me like I was crazy. The heat was blasting at full strength, and it still wasn't keeping out all the cold.

"What?"

"We're going to run out of gas," I said, a bit quietly.

"WHAT?" Alfred finally turned down his music.

"LOOK AT THE GAS." I said, perhaps a bit more harshly than I had meant.

Alfred looked at it a second, then looked back at me. "So?"

I growled in frustration. "So why don't you turn down the heater, so it'll last a little longer?"

"It won't make much of a difference at this point."

I looked at Alfred in surprise. He still looked plenty cheerful, despite his ominous words.

I started wrapping my mind around the idea of spending the night in a snow-covered car with no heater. My hands came out, knitting together in front of my mouth. My knees pulled up to my chest, giving my elbows a place to rest. I stared fiercely out into the black, mentally running scenarios.

After about a moment of peace, Alfred spoke up.

"Dude, you alright? You look like you're planning to kill someone! HAHAHA!" He laughed.

Now THAT was an interesting scenario…

I shook my head, letting my hands drop. "Just making sure we can survive the night," I said a bit quietly.

"HAHAHA! Don't worry, dude! Of course we'll survive! The Hero is here, so don't worry about a thing!"

Right as the words left his mouth, the jeep sputtered and died. The steady gust of hot air coming from the vents faded away. The music died. The headlights dimmed, then left us in near-total darkness.

We sat in silence for a moment.

I resisted the very strong temptation to clap.