I hope you like this chapter and I hope that you guys like the outfit I designed for Mattie.
Here you go: Chapter 8 Enjoy ^-^
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Chapter VIII
Gilbert's POV
About an hour and many outfits later, we had finally found the perfect outfit for Birdie. The whole time we were looking for the outfit, and even when changing, Birdie kept his hoodie on. Eventually, Elizavetta decided he must have just been shy, so she started giving him long sleeved shirts, assuming he must be insecure about his body.
And now, after much hard work, Birdie stands in the changing stall in front of us, putting on his new outfit. Liz has outdone herself with picking Birdies outfit. After hearing about his pride in his Canadian heritage and his love of maple syrup and polar bears, she decided to go off of that. After having him refuse several short sleeved shirts, she brought out the perfect long sleeved shirt that Birdie instantly took to. We are now waiting outside the changing stall while Birdie puts it on with the rest of his outfit.
After about five minutes, Birdie opens the curtain and steps out. My eyes grow wide as I take in the site before me. I'm really going to owe Liz for this. He looks amazing. He's clad in black skinny jeans with rips in the knees and a chain hanging from the belt loops. He has a belt with studs of varying shades of red on it and several woven bracelets that Elizavetta gave him. He's got on his worn red converse sneakers that compliment the outfit perfectly, and a bear claw is hanging from his neck on a leather string. The shirt, though, is perfect. It is a white, long sleeved shirt under a grey, short sleeved one that has a polar bear sketch on it with maple leaves around it.
Overall, Matt looks really great. One would even say he looks hot. I shock myself with this thought. I've known I'm bi for a long time, but only Ludwig, Vatti, Rodreich, and Elizavetta know about it. As I examine the boy in front of me I wonder if it's possible to have fallen for this violet eyed beauty in such a short amount of time.
Liz is gushing over how cute he looks, making a light blush spread over his cheeks and his lips curl into a small smile. My heart melts at the sight. I've never felt this way towards someone before. I want to hold and protect him, and make him smile like that every single day. He's so beautiful when he smiles like that. It's at that moment that I realize I've fallen head over heals for the shy Canuke.
What the hell am I thinking! I don't even know if he's gay or not! Well, who cares? Right now, I'll just get to know him better and be his friend. If I find out that he's gay, then I'll tell him my feelings. If he's not gay, then I'll just keep my feelings a secret and stay his friend.
"Hey, Gil, do you like it?" Birdie's voice breaks me away from my thoughts. I look back at him and see him looking up at me with those violet eyes, wanting to hear my opinion.
I smile softly, ruffle his hair lightly, and say, "You look awesome, Birdie. So, how much will this cost me Liz?"
"Wait a second! I can't let you pay for this, Gil," Birdie objects. "I don't want to be a burden on you. I'll pay for it myself. You've already done so much for me."
His last statement confuses me. All I've done is comfort him when he was crying, promised to be his friend, and hang out with him at the mall. This is all normal stuff people do for their friends; yet for some reason he's acting like I've saved him from the grips of death.
"I haven't done anything that entirely great, Birdie. I've just done what anyone who's the awesome me would do for a friend. Besides, if you were a burden then I wouldn't be offering to pay. Plus, I get rewards here, 'cause I shop here so often," I explain.
"Okay….I guess. And that's not true, Gil. You've done more for me than anyone else ever has. Any other person wouldn't have done anything," Birdie replies, looking up at me with an expression of true sadness on his face.
"What do you mean, "wouldn't have done anything", Birdie?" I inquire, looking at him intently.
He fidgets under my gaze and scratches at his wrists. "I'll tell you another time, maybe. Okay, Gil? Let's just enjoy the rest of today, okay?"
I sigh in defeat as he gives me the most adorable puppy dog eyes ever. "Fine. Go get changed and Liz can ring us up."
"Okay," he chirps, reminding me even more of a cute little bird. I walk up to the counter and Liz prepares to ring the clothes up.
"Gil, I'm worried about that kid," she says suddenly, looking up at me with a serious face.
"I know. So am I," I reply with a sigh. It's the truth, too.
"Really? You're worried about a human being other than yourself?" she says in mock surprise. Her face becomes serious once more as she continues. "I'm serious, Gil. Something is up with that kid. He's hiding something, and I think that it has to do with the reason he won't show us his arms. I have a feeling that it's more than just being shy."
"I know. I'm going to help this kid, Liz. I WANT to help him. I've never wanted to help someone as much as I do him. Besides maybe West when we were little, but that's different. West's mien bruder; this kid…he's different, Liz. I've never felt like this about someone, yet it's like he's made of glass, and if I touch him or get too close then he'll shatter," I explain to her. Elizavetta has always been one of my best friends, despite her love of attacking me with frying pans. I know that if I can trust anyone about this, it's her.
"Just don't break his heart. I see how you look at him, and I don't want either of you hurt," she says softly to my shocked face.
"We won't get hurt, Liz. At least, he won't. I swear, I will make sure that boy is happy no matter what, even if that means giving up mien own happiness for him," I say to her.
She sighs and merely replies with, "Just be careful. Hey Matt! You ready to ring up your clothes?"
"Yes please," Birdie says quietly, smiling.
We pay for the clothes, bid Liz farewell, and head off to explore more of the mall.
Matthew's POV
We leave Hot Topic after paying for the outfit. I'm not sure how Arthur will react if he sees it. Well, if he takes the time to pay attention to me long enough to notice it. Gil and I wander around the mall some more until I hear Gil's stomach growl loudly. I giggle as a blush spreads across his face.
"Hungry, Gil?"
"Yeah, a little bit. You wanna grab some lunch at the food court?" Gil asks.
"Sure."
We head to the food court and grab some pizza. We find a small, two-person table in a secluded corner of the food court where it's slightly less noisy, emphasis on slightly, and start eating. Gil passes little pieces of pizza crust up to Gilbird, who is sitting in his hair still, getting crumbs in his silver locks.
"Gil, you're getting food in your hair," I tell him with a giggle.
Gil takes Gilbird off of his head and shakes out all of the crumbs, sending them flying everywhere. I laugh and he breaks into that wide grin of his. Gilbird hops around on the table and looks up at me with his little black eyes. I smile at how innocent he looks.
"Hey, I've got one more place I wanna go before we go home. Okay, Birdie?" Gil says suddenly.
"Sure. Which store?" I ask, assuming that he's talking about one that's in the mall.
"Just a little shop not far from the mall; it's kind of like an antique shop in that it has a whole bunch of little odds and ends and stuff, but you can also get stuff custom made. One of the people who runs the shop does leather working as a hobby, and I know them, so they sometimes make custom made stuff for me," Gil explains as we get up and leave the mall. We head to Gil's car and head off towards the mysterious little store.
Gil drives to a small shop in a less visited part of town about ten minutes from the mall. The sign above the door says "Tulips and Trinkets". We enter the shop, and I'm surrounded instantly by such a wide variety of color, patterns, and objects that I have to close my eyes against the bombardment of my senses.
Gil and I carefully maneuver in between the huge piles, for lack of a better word, of stuff to the back of the shop. There's a clear area there with an overstuffed armchair, a small table, and a counter with a door leading to some kind of backroom behind it. Gil walks up to the counter and rings the bell loudly several times.
After a few minutes without an answer, Gil rings it again and we hear a thump from the back room.
"I'm coming," a gruff voice growls from the back room. It sounds grumpy and annoyed, as if whoever spoke it was just being woken up from a nap. A moment later, a tall man with cold, blue eyes and blonde hair that seems to defy gravity with the way it's spiked up walks out through the doorway. He has a pipe in his mouth, but it's not lit. I can tell he smokes it often, though, because I can smell the faint scent of pipe smoke wafting off of him. He has a long, blue and white stripped scarf wrapped around his neck. His eyes look at us, lingering on me for a few moments longer than I would have liked.
He turns to Gil and says in a thick Dutch accent, "What can I do for you, Gilbert?"
"I wanna introduce you to a special friend. This is Matthew Williams. I met him at school today and we're hanging out. Thought he would like your little shop," Gil responds.
"It's nice to meet you," I say, stepping forward to extend my hand to the tall Dutchman.
"The pleasure is all mine, little tulip. My name is Lars," he says, taking my hand and kissing the knuckles. His eyes look at me the whole time and I feel my cheeks flush a deep crimson. At the sight of my blush, his eyes flash a glint of feral amusement.
Gil notices the gleam in his eyes, puts an arm around me protectively, and says in a low, warning voice, "Careful, Lars. You can't touch this one. He's not your."
His voice is calm and level, yet at the same time, hints at a harsh and deadly threat that I have no doubt would be followed through should his words be ignored.
Lars merely smirks at his words, but does release my hand, which I am very greatful for.
This man's stares are slightly unnerving and make me uncomfortable. It's like I'm a toy for his amusement, and I don't like it. Despite the looks, I have a feeling that Lars means no harm, and that he's just joking.
Gil relaxes once Lars releases my hand and suggests that I go check out the rest of the store. He tells me that he wants to talk to Lars about something in private. I take him up on his offer, sending him a smile.
"Oh! If you see a woman with short, blonde hair with a ribbon in it, make sure to introduce yourself. Her name's Bella. She runs the place with me," Lars tells me before I walk off to explore the store and he and Gil head into the back room for their private talk.
After a little while of weaving in and out between shelves piled high with all a manner of nick knacks and other little odds and ends, I run into a pretty blonde women that looks only two or three years older than Gil. She's arranging things on a shelf when I see her and doesn't notice me at first. I tap her on the shoulder and she turns to me, giving me a warm smile.
"Hello! Who might you be?" she asks in a cherry voice.
"I'm Matthew Williams. Are you Bella? Lars told me that I should introduce myself if I ran into you. Gilbert Beilschmidt brought me here," I tell her.
"Yes I am Bella. So you're a friend of Gil? That's so wonderful. I didn't think he would have made any friends so soon after moving. I didn't think he'd have such a cute one at that," she replies, with a wink. My cheeks flush pink causing her to laugh. Her laugh is nice, like a bunch of bubbles.
"So how do you know our Gilly?" she inquires as she turns to continue her work on the shelves.
"We're classmates. We just came here from hanging out at the mall. He's a nice guy. I'm surprised he hasn't forgotten me yet, though."
"What do you mean? Gilbert never forgets a friend. He may not look it, but Gilbert is extremely loyal to his friends and will never forget someone once he lets them into his heart," she tells me, giving me a curious look.
"Really?"
She nods her head.
I'm surprised; I would never have thought that Gilbert what that kind of person. He seems so different from that.
"So, how does Gilbert know you and Lars?" I ask her, curious as to how Gilbert knows her. I like Bella; she's so kind and bright.
"Oh, we've known Gil for a long time. Our mothers knew each other before his passed away."
"Oh. He told me that he was in an accident when he was small," I tell her.
"Gil told you about the crash," she says, a shocked look on her face. "Wow, you really must be special. Gil has never told anyone about the crash. He still doesn't like to talk about it with his brother and grandfather, and avoids the subject at all costs. You must really be important to him."
I blush at the unexpected compliment.
"Well, anyway, you keep looking around and come up to the counter if you see anything you wanna buy, okay? See you in a bit. Oh, and if you need any help, just ask me, Lars, or our helper. He's around here somewhere. Tall guy with dark skin and black dreads. He should be in a bright Hawaiian shirt. You can't miss him."
I nod, and she hurries away towards the front desk. I wander around for about ten or fifteen minutes. The store is full of interesting little things. I stop after spotting something that catches my eye. It's a small sculpture of an eagle. It's not a bald eagle; in fact, it's a species that I can't place. I lean in to get a closer look at it. I admire the craftsmanship. It's a beautiful piece of work, with great attention paid to the head, talons, and especially the feathers. They look so real that they look like they would be soft if I were to reach out and touch them.
I'm so engrossed in the sculpture that I don't hear footsteps approaching. Someone clears their throat; I turn towards the noise and freeze in fear. I'm staring into the face of my cousin; the one who molested me for a year when I was small. The last time I saw him was at his criminal trial ten years ago, where he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. I tell myself that it can't possibly be him, because he's still in jail. I take another look at the man in front of me to try and find some different in his face from that of my cousins. He has Dark brown skin and black hair in dreads. His Brown eyes: an almost exact copy of my cousins. He has a large, strong build, with a bit of a stomach, a bit of stubble on his chin, and the smell of cigarettes hangs around him.
He smiles kindly and holds out his hand saying, "Hi, I'm John Doe. You must be the boy Bella was talking about, Matthew, right? She said that I should introduce myself to you if I saw you."
"How did you know it was me?"
"Oh, she said, 'Look for a kid that has wavy blonde hair with one random curl to the side who's wearing glasses and a red hoodie with a maple leaf on it'," he tells me.
"I see," I reply in a meek voice, still not taking his hand. This man looks so much like my cousin; the one who was the center of my fear for so many years. After a bit, I decide to give this man the benefit of the doubt, but to be very careful around him. I know that my cousin should still be in jail, but this man just gives me a bad feeling; so I must use caution around him.
I take his hand and shake it tentatively. The whole time, he wears a warm smile on his face. I try to pull my hand back, but find it caught in the man's vice-like grip. He tugs me forward and whispers to me, his warm breath ghosting over my ear," I've missed you Matthew. It's been so many years since I've gotten to touch you. I never thought that you would walk right into my arms like this."
My whole body goes rigid as my fears are confirmed. This man is Carlos, my cousin, who I thought I was safe from after so many years. He's found me again, and I fear that this time, he won't let me escape.
I can't move; I'm too afraid of the man who's standing before me. My mind is screaming at me to run, to get away from Carlos, to scream, to run to Gilbert, yet my body is petrified by my overwhelming fear of this man.
Carlos pulls back and looks at me with an expression of lust and triumph on his face. He knows that he's got me and that I am too scared to try and escape. He says, "Don't think of telling anyone, or that albino friend who's looking for you gets it. Understand?"
I'm able to nod my head as Carlos releases his grip on me, his fake, friendly smile gracing his face once more, just as Gilbert turns the corner into the aisle that we're in.
"Hey Birdie! I've been looking for you. You see anything you like?"
I do my best to put on a fake smile and show him the sculpture I had been looking at before Carlos had found me. He smiles at the sight of it. It's a surprisingly soft smile that has a hint of pride in it.
"Hey do you know what kind of bird that is, Birdie?" he asks me.
I shake my head and he smiles wider.
"It's a Prussian eagle. It's the bird of my country," he says with great pride.
"I thought you were German," I say, giving him a confused look.
"Technically I'm from East Germany, the area that used to be Prussia. Mein Mutti's side of the family is descended from one of the Prussian kings, King Fredrick the Great. He is said to have been the nation's best king. I got all of my genes from her side of the family, so I consider myself to be Prussian, while West got all of his from our Vater's side, so he's just plain German," he explains to me.
"West?"
"Yeah, that's my nickname for Ludwig. He was born in the west side of Germany and his bedroom has always been on the west , while I was born in East Germany, where Prussia used to be, und mien bedroom has always been on the east side of the house. Since he's always been west of me, I decided that I'd call him West. Likewise, he calls me East."
"Oh, I see. That's cool," I say, looking back at the statue of the Prussian eagle.
"Hey, John, how much does this little statue cost?" Gil says, turning to my cousin.
"Eighteen dollars. You can check out with Bella or Lars. I gotta go now; it's just about my break. Care to join me out back for a smoke, Matt?" Carlos replies, turning to me with an innocent smile. I know that his smile is hiding malicious intent beneath it, and I shy away from him a bit.
"No, thank you," I say in a quiet voice.
"Awe, Come on. You don't have to smoke if you don't want to. I just want someone to talk to so I can get to know you better."
"Why don't you go with him Birdie? John's a cool guy, you guys you get along well," Gil says, completely oblivious to the danger this man is to me.
"I-I'm not feeling too well, and I'd just like to go if you don't mind," I lie to him. I feel really bad about lying to Gil, but I'm desperate to get away from Carlos.
"Okay Birdie. We can go, but I want to get this first. I like it," Gil tells me and gently lifts the sculpture from the shelf.
"Merci Gilbert," I say and stay close to Gil as we walk away from Carlos to pay and then leave the store.
A/N: Oh my god I am soooooooooooooooooooooo sorry guys for taking so long. I had the end of school and then when I tried to type the last two pages of this at my mom's house I found out that we don't have Microsoft word downloaded on that computer. Luckily I am at my dad's house this week and he does have it so I plan to get another chapter out this week, maybe two since I'll be at his office and have access to a computer. So please forgive me for taking so long.
Also danke, merci, gracias, grazie, thank you a million times over for all of your support. It means so much to me that you guys like this and continue to read it despite me being super slow. I hope to be updating more often now that the summer is here and I'll have more free time so I'll try to do my best to make up for being super slow during the school year.
Also I hope you guys like the outfit that I designed for Matthew and I'd like to let you know that I'm actually going to be making that very outfit only it's going to be on a white t-shirt and not grey and it will have short sleeve. I will post pictures of it on deviant art as soon as I'm done it.
Translations:
All of the German and French in this chapter is pretty simple stuff that everyone I think knows here. If you don't then just message me if you would like to know what something means.
Now here are a few words from my awesome and wonderful Beta Sakura414:
I don't know about any of you, but this chapter seriously freaked me out! TTATT Wolf-chan is wonderful as usual, but things are getting super intense! Poor little Mattie... Anyway, on behalf of myself and Wolfen Artist of Hetalia, thank you all for reading!