Chapter three – Crashing pathetically

(A/N – I changed the Netherlands' name to Lars – thank you Yanelle for telling me that!)

"Ludwig-san, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like a word with you."

"Kiku, what's up? Sorry, I'm a little busy at the moment…" Ludwig tilted his head slightly, standing in his doorway looking down at Kiku's tiny structure. What Ludwig wanted to know is what on Earth Kiku could 'want a word' about.

"Ah, I see…" Kiku frowned slightly, "Might I ask what you're busy doing?"

"Studying, as usual…" the German sighed, holding up a large book he'd been reading before Kiku had called on him.

"I'm terribly sorry to have disturbed you. However, I must insist that I talk to you." Kiku pressed. Ludwig frowned slightly – he wasn't annoyed, simply confused. Kiku was never usually this up-front, so either the boy was taking on a new personality, or what he needed to talk about was quite important. Ludwig would bet anything it was the latter.

"Well, I suppose I need a bit of a break, too. Come on in," Ludwig opened the door properly, inviting Kiku in, "Would you like something to drink?" he asked, walking through to the kitchen and reaching into the cupboards for two glasses.

"Just water, please, if it's no problem," Kiku smiled, taking a seat on the small sofa, "Where's Feliciano-san?"

Ludwig shook his head, "I think he said he was going to see his brother."

"So he won't be coming back for a while?"

"No, I don't think so… why?" Ludwig asked, furrowing his brows as he sat next to Kiku, handing him his drink.

Kiku took a sip of his water, and then let it rest on his crossed knees. He sighed, and then looked up at Ludwig, his big brown eyes looking a little guilty, "I… I think you're letting studying take over your life, Ludwig-san. Don't get me wrong, I think studying is very important… and there are many people in this school that could take a lesson off you. But… tell me, what do you seek from this studying? What will you gain?"

Ludwig frowned at the question – again, in confusion rather than annoyance, "Well, I suppose I want to get into a good collage. Get into a good university," he shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, "A doctor or a lawyer… something like that. I'll get a good income, and I'll have a nice house, a stable life."

"Now, Ludwig-san, if you don't mind me asking…" Kiku said, "What would you prefer out of the following – would you prefer a stable job, like you just described, working hard and gaining a lot, but when you came home, there was no one there. Or would you prefer a lesser job, say a professor in a university, or a psychologist, but then you were able to come home to a family that you love, and be in a happier, warmer atmosphere, but with less money?"

"Well of course the second one. But what're you getting at?" Ludwig was still terribly confused, "You can have a stable job and a happy family…"

Kiku sighed, "Ludwig-san… I think there is no other way but to tell you straight. You're working too hard; your studies are taking over your life, and if you get into such habits at an early age, then they may well take over your life. Yes, you may manage to juggle family and work, but would it really feel like a family if you only saw them for about three hours a day? Because, let's be realistic, you'd be out at nine o'clock in the morning, probably before, then get home after six, possibly seven or eight. If you've got kids, then they're probably going to go to bed around eight? The only time you're going to see your family properly is a Sunday, and you'll want to do something leisurely then! Without even intending it, you'll grow distant from your family, Ludwig-san."

"Kiku, what're you talking about? I can see that makes sense, but I doubt it'd be triggered by me studying too hard in high school… I can decide my future, and if I decide that being a doctor doesn't give me enough time with those I love, then I'll switch jobs; I'll have to qualifications, so it'll be easy. I can just be a medical professor, as you say. I don't think I need to worry about this now, surely?" Ludwig wasn't aggressive with his tone, but he wasn't exactly soft either.

The Japanese boy sighed, re-folding his legs, "When was the last time you went on a date with Feliciano-san?"

Narrowing his eyes at the odd question, Ludwig cast his mind back, "Last Saturday, why do you ask?"

"I have… had a chat with him. He feels that you two're not what you used to be. It's not that you don't care about him – please don't think I'm saying that. He just thinks that sometimes you value your work more than him," Kiku tried to phrase his words as diplomatically as possible.

"But of course that's not true! I love him, and nothing will change that, especially not my work. Why does he think that?" Ludwig didn't seem offended Kiku realised with relief, he seriously seemed terrified about the situation. Well, at least that proved he cared.

"Well… From what I've heard on your last date and many dates previously… I-I heard you got distracted with work in the middle, or wouldn't stop talking about your science work, or repeating maths equations you have to learn. I-I don't know if it's completely true – we all know Feliciano-san exaggerates a little, but I think you need to take his words into consideration, Ludwig-san." Kiku bowed his head, "I'm sorry for bothering you. Thank you for your time, Ludwig-san. And really, I'm not saying this to be spiteful; I really worry about you."

Ludwig nodded thoughtfully, standing up to see Kiku out the door, "Thank you, Kiku. I know you – you couldn't say an offensive thing to a mass-murderer. I understand it must've been quite hard for you to tell me that. Thank you for worrying about me. I think, because you've tried so hard with me, I have to tell you something in return.2

"And what is that?"

"Be careful with Lars, Kiku."

The Japanese boy stayed silent for a moment, and then turned to meet Ludwig's eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about, Ludwig-san. I appreciate your concern, but thankfully it is not needed. I'll see you in form tomorrow."

"Kiku," Ludwig called him back with a sigh, "I'm worried about you."

Kiku's expression hardened, "And I'm telling you there is nothing to worry about, Ludwig-san. Goodbye."

As soon as Kiku had said that, he was out of the door and down the corridor before Ludwig had chance to reply – that was probably his plan. Ludwig sighed, burying his face in his hands. It really did feel like their trio was crumbling away, and that thought made Ludwig want to crawl up into his bed and not come out again.

"Right class! Today we're starting a module that I think you will all find very interesting, aru," the classes teacher, Professor Wang clapped his hands together, and then spun on his feet to face the whiteboard, and spelt out a word in huge letters, saying each letter aloud as he went, "Astronomy!"

There was a little ripple throughout the class at that moment. In normal schools, if you showed any appreciation for science then you'd instantly be given the labels of 'geek', 'nerd', or 'teachers pet', everyone at Goverek understood that just because something was cool in science, it didn't make you a loser. Here it was quite cool to be clever.

"Now, who can tell me the difference between astronomy, astrology and astrophysics, aru?" the Professor asked, knitting his fingers together as he watched the classes' hands raise, "Yes, Alfred?" he was always pleased to hear from the American.

Alfred looked down at Arthur, who nodded helpfully in reassurance, patting his leg, "Ehh, well I think astronomy is the study of stars and planets and stuff, astrology is like horoscopes and 'if Venus moves into the path of Mars then we shall all die!' sort of thing. And… is astrophysics… is that like learning about why stars move, and… matter or something?"

The Professor was more than satisfied with Alfred's answer. He almost whooped for joy right there in front of everyone – he was so pleased when a student who was labelled for being a bit of a dunce, like Feliciano or Alfred, spoke up and got a question correct.

"Brilliant, Alfred!" Professor Wang could hardly contain his excitement, "Utterly great. As Alfred said, astronomy, astrology and astrophysics are all to do with stars and space. I know in the past we've looked at our Solar System, but come on, that was a bit boring. Now we get to learn about the known universe, and I tell you, class, this can be one of the most interesting topics you'll come across. Now, I think we'll start this lesson talking about someone I think two or three people in this room," he caught Feliciano and Lovino's eyes, "Will feel very proud of," he spun again, spelling out the letters on the board as he wrote, and rubbing out a few when he spelt it wrong, "Galileo!"

Feliciano and Lovino exchanged a glace; grinning at the mention of one of their country's many icons.

"Who can tell me the story of Galileo, then?" Professor Wang looked over at Lovino and Feliciano, and sure enough, both of their hands were trying to touch the ceiling, "You two, fire away!"

After Lovino and Feliciano had gone into great detail about Galileo and his work, most of the class had stopped listening. Luckily for them, all of them already knew the whole story between the Pope and Galileo. They weren't dense. Actually, by the time they'd finished, there was only twenty minutes of the lesson left.

"Thank you there, Lovino, Feliciano!" the Professor nodded at the boys, cutting across Lovino, who'd opened his mouth to talk about Galileo's death, "Now, I want you to partner off. You and your partner will make a list of everything you remember or know about the universe. It doesn't matter if it's wrong – next lesson we'll discuss them and decide what we've missed etcetera. For homework I want you all to go and buy a star map; you'll probably be able to find one quite cheap in the astrology store in town, and label it using whatever means you wish. You can Google it, read about it, or even go outside at night and look for yourselves. I think it's safe to assume you'll all be using Google, though," the Professor smiled, "Off you go!"

The class easily split off into pairs – it was almost set into stone who paired with who, and if anyone strayed from their normal pair they'd create havoc in the class, as it would affect everyone else's pairs as well. Of course, Alfred and Arthur were together.

Arthur reached out for his pen, jotting down a few things of his own on their list, "Anything you've got?"

"Yeah! They're romantic!" Alfred grinned, pleased with himself.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I do wonder with you, sometimes. But seriously, do you have anything?"

"Maybe put something about the speed of light?" Alfred asked, "Was it… 36 billion metres per second?"

The Brit reached into his bag, typing quickly into his phone something, and then read aloud, "The speed of light is… Two hundred and ninety-nine million, seven hundred and ninety-two thousand, four hundred and fifty-eight metres per second." Arthur concluded, taking a deep breath, and began scribbling the numbers down.

"Whatever, I was close." Alfred grinned, watching Arthur as he scribbled down the figures.

"Mr. Kirkland, as much as I admire your efforts to impress by writing down the speed of light, I do remember asking you two write down what you remember, and I'm pretty sure using your Smartphone to help you isn't really remembering. But nice idea."

The two boys wheeled around to see that Professor Wang was standing behind them, smiling all too pleasantly down at them, and he'd obviously seen the entire thing. Arthur sighed, neatly crossing off the string of numbers he'd copied down, muttering an apology under his breath.

"Not to worry, Arthur. And, Alfred, you should have a little more confidence in yourself. You're good at science, no matter what you think. Try answering a few more questions; no one's going to think you're stupid if you get it wrong," the Professor paused, hearing what he just said, "No, well, people might laugh, but we all know it's only banter. Really, Alfred, I think you could go quite far in a science-related career."

Alfred was taken aback at the sudden compliments he was receiving from their Chinese teacher. It seemed Arthur was quite surprised as well, "Ehh… Thank you, Professor. But I think I have my hopes pinned in another area."

"Oh? You do?"

"Well… I don't really know yet," Alfred shrugged, "I just don't think science is for me."

"You'd be surprised, Alfred. Science is everywhere around you, so you could argue that science is for everyone," Professor Wang smiled, "Just have a think. I'll talk to you boys later."

And he simply walked back over to his desk, beginning to mark some papers. Arthur and Alfred were both looking at each other, matching expressions of 'I wonder why that happened'.

"Nice one, though," Arthur said, smiling, "I always told you that you were good at science."

Alfred grinned, "Thanks, Artie!" he then sighed deeply, "I don't want to think about what to study in collage… it's scary! I don't want to decide my future right now… I'm fourteen!"

"Scary thought, isn't it? We're going to be fifteen this year…" Arthur could remember having this conversation many times, "Before we know it we'll be out in collage, living in our own apartments…"

"Well, you'll be living with me, so that's no problem!" Alfred grinned, winking.

Before Arthur had chance to reply, the bell had rung, and everyone was clambering up from their seats to go to their next lessons. Antonio was at the front of the class talking with Professor Wang, which annoyed Arthur a little – the Brit had wanted a word with Professor about collages and the future. But he could try again later, hopefully. Now he'd have to face another lesson without Alfred by his side to make it better. How fun.

Alastair was pissed off with the world.

Seriously pissed off with the world.

It felt like everyone was out to destroy every little happy thing he had. Over the past year, he'd dated countless girls, and he was not ashamed to admit that he couldn't even remember most of their names while they were dating, let alone now. Of course, Elizabeth had come into the equation quite a few times, and ended with fiery arguments and smashing objects every time. Though, when Alastair claimed to have dated countless girls, he hadn't really dated them. More spoken to them, kissed them, gotten laid, and left in the morning before they woke up. It was almost becoming a burden these days. God what was the world coming to? Sex – a burden? Did he seriously just think that?

Though he had to admit to himself that it was true. With a sad jolt, Alastair realised he was starting to become scarily like his father. A new woman in his bed every night, getting drunk without an excuse and smoking endlessly. Well, he was nearly sixteen. That was his excuse, though it really was a lame one.

Since Owain had begun dating Francis, Alastair had found himself becoming quite close with the Bad Touch Trio. Initially he'd strengthened his friendship with the three idiots to try and spy on Francis to make sure he wasn't planning on doing anything sick to Owain. Though, after nearly a year of tagging along with the three (Alastair had begun this mission just after Daniel and Ivy's failed wedding) he could unfortunately admit that every time Francis spoke of his 'beloved little Owain' they were the sweetest, sickening, sugar-coated words of utter adoration for the Welsh boy. Alastair wanted to bite his own tongue off before admitting it, but Francis was a pretty good boyfriend.

Luckily his infiltration of the trio hadn't been completely wasteful. Alastair had been reminded of Gilbert, the guy who for years he'd called his best friend. They'd known each other briefly before joining Goverek, and had been pretty inseparable before Alastair had been forced to repeat year seven for skipping too many classes. After that, Alastair and Gilbert had drifted off in their own directions, and, although they still grinned at each other, they never really hung out. Now though that'd changed. The two were like they had been, only with the addition of slow, but likable Antonio and the not-as-bad-as-he'd-thought Francis.

The trio with the addition of Alastair were currently on the field, like usual, smoking, like usual, and swearing, like usual. It comforted Alastair a little to be around people that he could actually relate to, though it did kind of depress him that these guys were all in pretty stable relationships.

That reminded him… "Hey Gil, I heard Matthew was getting pretty pissed at how much time you've been spending around Héderváry…"

Gilbert sighed, closing his eyes patiently, "I've told him – my dad asked me to make sure she was okay with the pregnancy and stuff… You know what she's like; she's got the strength and idiocy of a guy, and if she's not careful she's going to kill herself and that baby. Edelstein's 'too much of a gentleman' to actually say anything, even though he's the fucking father, so apparently now it's up to me to make sure she doesn't go hiking up a mountain or whatever. Matthew's just worried that I'm cheating on him, which is the stupidest idea in the world. It was pretty cute at first, but for God's sake – does he really think I'm going to cheat on him with a teacher?"

Alastair rolled his eyes, "Don't worry, mate, I'm sure he'll lighten up soon, right? Why don't you take him with you when you go to check on her to prove that you're not doing anything?"

"I suggested that, he flatly refused. He hasn't actually accused me of cheating, but I know he's thinking of it. He's been really cold recently. I really am kinda worried about him…" Gilbert sighed, "I was worried he might… y'know… try and get his own back?" no one noticed Francis stiffening, "I tried asking him about it, and he got all tearful, accusing me of having trust issues."

"Man that is rich!" Alastair laughed in disbelief, "He needs to get his act together…"

"I don't like this weird feeling I have with him at the minute. It's like we're not comfortable around each other, like we're both hiding something big from each other, though I know full well that I'm not hiding anything, and I don't think Matthew's the type to cheat, right? He's just so innocent."

Alastair shrugged, "It's usually the innocent ones that turn out to be slags."

"Ah, man, that's with girls, that's different," Gilbert said.

"Matthew looks like a girl, so what's the difference?" Alastair smirked, ignoring Gilbert's rough shove, "So how's Lovino been, Antonio?"

Antonio beamed, looking up from his iPod where he'd been desperately trying to break the high score on an app, "He's been great! We're great! Actually… I think we're better than great! I think I can actually say that he's finally comfortable around me, which is always a positive. I'm taking him on a secret date at the weekend!" Antonio tapped his nose childishly, way too pleased with myself.

"Who'd have thought it…? Antonio and Lovino are pretty much the only two whose relationship hadn't crashed pathetically!" Alastair scoffed, expressing his disbelief of the phenomenon.

"Hey! My relationship has not 'crashed pathetically' thank you very much!" Gilbert frowned.

"And I can assure you Owain and I am closer to 'soaring impressively' rather than 'crashing pathetically' as much as you'd like for the latter to happen. But no fear, mon cher, I am taking perfect care of your beloved brother." Francis drawled in such a way that Alastair couldn't be too sure if the guy was gloating or not. Trusting Francis, he probably was.

"He's not my 'beloved brother', idiot. He's just my brother…" Alastair frowned, gritting his teeth.

Francis sighed, "You know Alastair, and he still cares about you. You've been acting like just because I'm dating him you can't even see him. But I can assure you, Owain is missing you an awful lot. He talks about you at least once a day. He's constantly worrying about you having to repeat yet another year. Just talk to him - you know I'm fine with that! Hell I'd be fine if you hugged and held hands like you used to!"

"No. It's weird." Alastair decided stonily.

"You didn't seem to think that a while ago…" Gilbert muttered, though not meanly, he was simply trying to help Alastair.

"You know, Feliciano and Lovino are really cute when they're together…" Antonio said almost as a side thought, "Feli won't stop hugging Lovi! But everyone knows that that's fine – they're brothers, and they love each other, so why can't they show everyone they love each other? It's perfectly normal! It doesn't have to be weird…"

The other three paused to think about Antonio's words, Gilbert and Francis nodding in agreement.

There was no shifting Alastair, though, "Nope. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Francis, you're good for him. If anything I just pulled him down. At least you can 'soar impressively' with him," Alastair shook his head, standing up, "I'm going over to Coverack to see if I can score with Elizabeth… I need to get some stress-relief."

"Do you want a black eye?" Antonio asked, grinning.

"I don't fancy having another food war with them either. Look what it got us last time – a new head teacher! I'm quite happy with my dad being at the top, thanks," Gilbert rolled his eyes almost fondly.

Alastair frowned, "Oh shut it, you idiots. I'll see you later."

"Don't kill yourself!" the three called after him, practically rolling about in childish giggles when Alastair shot back a stream of multiple swear words at them. When the Scot had gone, the three sighed.

"He's a case…" Gilbert muttered, "One of these days he's gunna fucking kill himself, isn't he?" Gilbert was only half-serious about his accusation.

"If he doesn't do it deliberately it'll be with his drug intake…" Francis sighed, "It'd be a pain if Owain was too depressed to kiss. Maybe we should do something about it…"

The three paused for a moment.

"Maybe later." They all said at once, grinning at each other when they realised just how in-sync they really were.

A/N

Sorry about the wait ._. I really don't like this chapter! Nothing happpppensssssss. :c but that'll change soon hopefully!
Before I forget (I know I did last time ._.") Thank you very much to those of you who've given me help with my 'how do I kill a relationship' question XD your answers are really, really helpful! Luckily, with the addition of you guys, I remembered that my two best friends are dating two guys (yeah. I forgot that. Idk how.) so I've realised that I can use them for a little 'research' so hopefully the character's reactions will be more realistic and we'll get new material rather than my cliché-stealing usual stuff XD well… I can't guarantee anything…
So I have many plans for pretty much all the characters :3 those of you who've been wanting him, Russia probably will make a more main appearance. Probably some China/Russia (Idk what you call that pairing) Don't hate me, but I really don't like Russia, so if I don't write him well, I'm terribly sorry ._." and I AM thinking of including the Nordics, and I have been for a while… I'm just not sure… how. X'D again, suggestions are welcome!
And, just out of curiosity, where do you think I'm heading with the storyline? I really do want to know XD
So thank you for reviews/follows/faves etc. :'3 they're welcomed and appreciated, and I will be sending you all invisible mint bunnies! 8D
Byebye!