Chapter thirteen – Early November
November came a lot quicker than expected. Before anyone knew it, the shops in and around town were getting kitted out with their red, green and white colour schemes, sales were on, and Christmas was slowly inching its way around the corner. The temperature was dropping as the days went on, more and more people beginning to wear scarves and hats, replacing ice cream with apple pies and orange juice with tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
Despite the seasons taking a cheerful change, not a lot was happening inside Goverek school. Still Arthur and Alfred were arguing, still Matthew was flirting with Francis and swearing at Owain, even after what'd happened with Gilbert. There were rumours that Gilbert and Alastair had even started going out – the Twins could confirm that they'd walked in on Gilbert and Alastair getting it on more than a few times, but whenever anyone asked, they'd either deny everything, or claim that it was just a series of one-night-stands. Either explanation was possible. Kiku was finally feeling a little more comfortable with himself, and had managed to let Lars go a little further, though the emphasis was on the little.
The second week of November was when everything would change again.
The boys were currently on a 'study break' as their teachers had called it – all their controlled assessments from October were over, and now they were preparing for mock exams in January, though, luckily for them, they were being given a little time to themselves. Most boys were spending it with their 'special someone' – whether they be female or male, though usually the latter. Arthur and the other single boys just spent their time moping about and being unproductive, something that Miss Héderváry was heavily dissuading.
"Listen, I don't want to annoy you and start shouting 'YOLO' everywhere, but there is some truth in it! You do only live once, and you need to make the most of it. Yeah, you don't have to do stupid things like you see in some pictures that are hash-tagged YOLO, but really, you can't spend your younger years moping around computer screens and generally being a nuisance!"
The class stared at her silently.
Miss Héderváry gave them a look as if to say 'what?', but then, she seemed to suddenly catch on to the class' cynical looks, and slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Jesus Christ I sound like an old woman, don't I?"
The class nodded as one.
"Bloody hell. Right. Fuck this! No rules – do what you want – swear all the time!" she threw her hands up, and shook her head frantically, "Nope, nope, nope! I'm not getting old! I'm not going to become a senile old woman who can only complain! Nope, nope, nope!"
"Don't worry, Miss, you're too awesome to be senile!" Alfred called out with a grin. Recently, he'd been becoming more and more like his innocent, old self, something Arthur was secretly very thankful for. Just because he wasn't dating Alfred didn't mean he didn't care about him.
"Thank you Alfred… But speaking of getting older, I need to tell you all something," she cleared her throat, regaining the class' attention, "Today is my last day."
Bedlam broke out.
"What!? You can't just go! What're we going to do without you!?"
"Tell me you're joking!"
"You can't leave!"
"Why? What did we do wrong!?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for anything I've done! Please miss, you're the best teacher ever, just don't leave!"
Every student had their own little monologue of regret and sorrow at Miss Héderváry's words. Alastair looked very tempted to throw a chair out of the open window.
"Woah, woah, calm everyone! Sit, sit! And Alfred, please get up off the floor. Let me explain," she said to her form class calmly, "This is why I'm going," she issued to her stomach.
No one really understood, until Arthur stood up, slapping his forehead in annoyance.
"You idiots! She's not leaving – not forever! She's going on maternity leave, don't you remember her telling us?"
The class stared at Arthur, then at Miss Héderváry, then at her very large stomach.
"Oh yeah! I forgot she was pregnant!" someone called out.
"I kinda got used to the bulge!" called out another stupidly, earning a glare off Miss Héderváry.
"As I was saying," she laughed a little at her class, "Today is my last day here – but I will be coming back," she added in a rush, "So I want to make this one count. Remember, if you're ever feeling like you need a shoulder to cry on, then you can talk to Mr. Edelstein, or just give me a call. I'm your form tutor – I need to be there for you when things matter most, okay? And don't laugh, Alastair, boys do have feelings too, you're just rubbish at expressing them at times!"
The class nodded, muttering awkward agreements.
The bell then rung, and everyone sprung to their feet, making for the door.
"Now don't forget about what I said! You all have feelings too!"
"Yes, yes!" called a handful of boys, and soon the classroom was empty.
Sitting down and shaking her head, Miss Héderváry laughed to herself. Boys, she thought, they never will admit to their true feelings. Unless they're gay, suddenly Arthur popped up in her head, okay, so not all gay boys either.
Miss Héderváry smiled to herself, taking a sip of tea and patting her stomach.
"Not long now, baba," Miss Héderváry shook her head, "God I hope nothing goes wrong."
Before she could muse her thoughts aloud any longer, however, there was a knock at the door, and in a rush ran Gilbert, looking distraught.
"Miss! You should've told me today was your last day, I'd have got you a card!" he pouted, and then blushed a little, "N-Not that I was planning to or anything."
"Oh Gilbert, being bashful doesn't suit you!" Miss Héderváry grinned, getting up from her desk and holding her arms out for a hug, "I won't be gone long, yeah? There's no need for a card!"
Gilbert frowned, "But…" he furrowed his brow, trying to think of the words, "What will you do without my awesome presence in your life?"
"Oh just admit that you'll miss me!" she rolled her eyes, "I'm sure me and my sweet little baby will manage."
"But when you come back you'll be different! Everyone's different when they're a mum… They become responsible and boring! After today we'll never see Miss Héderváry – the woman who threw eggs at her boss – ever again! You'll be Mrs. Edelstein! You can't marry Edelstein!"
"Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert," Miss Héderváry laughed, putting a hand on his head, "This is me you're talking to, do you really think I'm going to change? I'll always be quirky old me, mother and married status or no mother and married status. Now, you must've had a reason to flunk off first lesson other than to moan at me?"
Gilbert stared at the floor, "Well, yeah, but… You're obviously busy. I don't want to bother you."
Miss Héderváry rolled her eyes, "When have I ever been busy? Sit down and blab your heart out."
"But…"
Gilbert knew the look she was giving him. There was no escaping her wrath now. So, helplessly, he dragged a chair up to sit opposite her desk.
"It's Mattie."
"Ah. Him. Now, I've heard a lot, but I'm not exactly sure what was going on with that boy. I didn't want to ask him, in case he was feeling sensitive about it…" Miss Héderváry frowned, leaning her elbows on her desk, and resting her chin on her hands, "What's happened?"
"Well, about a month ago we broke up, and…"
"You broke up? Why didn't you tell me!? What happened?"
"Calm it with the questions, woman!" Gilbert grinned to show he was joking, "But basically… he kissed Francis."
"No!"
"And Owain."
"You're kidding!"
"And Alfred."
Miss Héderváry looked about ready to insult Matthew greatly, but controlled herself, as teacher's aren't meant to backstab their own students, "Why!?"
Gilbert shrugged helplessly, "Dunno. But it happened," Gilbert shook his head, "I just don't get his motive."
Miss Héderváry nodded her head from side to side, "… An… accident?"
"How the hell could that happen by accident?"
"Good point," Miss Héderváry decided to drop the false 'I-love-all-my-students' act, "Maybe he just liked the feeling of being the centre of attention for once, y'know? He's always being ignored, but now he's finally being noticed, though in a negative way. But noticed nonetheless. He probably wasn't happy with you, but just didn't realise it. The thought probably didn't even occur to him as you were always so nice to him. I think he's changed, yes, but the old Matthew is underneath this new him. Maybe you'll never get back together, but I think, once he changes, you can be friends."
Gilbert nodded slowly, "I see what you mean… But I still love him."
"It will get better, you know," Miss Héderváry smiled, trying to catch Gilbert's gaze that'd fallen to the ground; she gently rested her hands on top of Gilberts, "Hey? C'mon Gil, give us an awesome grin."
Gilbert gave in and looked up, finally cracking with his usual grin, "Thanks miss. I don't really know why I came, I know everything you told me…"
"Sometimes you just need reassurance from another person, don't you?"
"Exactly."
"So what's going on with you and Alastair?" Miss Héderváry grinned mischievously, "I've heard the rumours."
"God that's un-awesome…" Gilbert's grin went from confident to embarrassed as he glued his eyes on the floor again, "There's really nothing serious going on. It really is just sex with no strings attached." He shrugged, "What can I say? We're just friends with benefits."
Rolling her eyes, Miss Héderváry shook her head, "That's terrible! I should be telling you to stop being such horny idiots! But I know no matter what I say it won't stop you."
Gilbert nodded. Of course it wouldn't.
"So how's your brother?" Miss Héderváry played with a strand of her hair, curling it around a finger, "I heard he was offered a place in a pretty impressive university…"
"Oxford, yeah…" Gilbert gritted his teeth, frowning, "Of course he's going to leave everyone behind and put his work first. I wish dad would talk to him about it."
Miss Héderváry frowned, "What, even Feli?"
"Yeah. Well, even if Feli went with him, Ludwig would pretty much ignore him – not deliberately, like, but just because he'd be weighed down with so much work," Gilbert shook his head, "We can't stop him, but I wish we could."
"Well… you've gotta let him do what he has to do," Miss Héderváry sighed, "It is a shame though…"
"Yeah…" Gilbert sighed, and then clapped his hands, jumping to his feet, "But I don't want to get all down about it/ I have to stay awesome – it's your last day! I'm gunna run out and get a card for you and drop it off after school! Thanks, miss!"
With that, Gilbert was out the door, not letting Miss Héderváry lecture him on skiving lessons.
"That boy…" Miss Héderváry rolled her eyes, and lay back in her chair, patting her stomach reassuringly before going on to make some papers.
Francis was feeling guilty.
He was feeling so guilty; in fact, he was beginning to feel a little sick. And Francis was never ill in the slightest – he always took his vitamins in the morning, and went to ridiculous extents to keep his health in perfect condition. So this churning feeling in his stomach could only be due to his guilt.
Finally, he'd come to a conclusion he'd have to admit about his little flirting sessions with Matthew to Owain. He didn't want to – he felt terrible about doing it. But he had to.
But what had spurred on this sudden act of honesty?
Actually it'd been in their usually very boring R.E. Lesson with scary Mr. Oxenstierna. They'd just come on to the topic of relationships, marriages and divorces. A very sensitive topic for most boys in the class.
"So cl'ss," Mr. Oxenstierna said in his heavily accented, ominous voice, "Why m'ght y'u get a divorce?"
Arthur's hand flew into the air.
"Arth'r?"
"Because your marriage just isn't working."
"G'd, g'd. Any more, any'ne?"
Hesitantly, Kiku raised his hand, "Perhaps because you both want different thing from the marriage?"
Mr. Oxenstierna nodded – he was actually a lot nice than he looked, "Y's, keep th'm coming."
Next Matthew raised his hand, "Because your interested in other people? Or just not commited?"
Mr. Oxenstierna nodded his head.
Owain's hand was next, "Maybe… You cheated on your partner? Or they cheated on you…?"
"Br'll'nt. Th't's all we need f'r now, th'nk y'u, every'ne," Mr. Oxenstierna turned to face the board, and began reading aloud instructions for the class.
That was exactly what had irked Francis' guilt. That, and the fact that when Owain was answering the question, he'd looked directly at Francis with an unreadable expression. Francis knew exactly what that gaze was for, of course. Owain must be suspicious – well, it was quite obvious; it wasn't as if Matthew had made any attempts to hide their taboo flirting.
So Francis had convinced himself by the end of the day that he had to tell Owain.
The two of them were currently sitting in their dorm, Owain trying to do homework and Francis just lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Hosting himself up to his feet, Francis sat opposite Owain at the desk he was doing his homework on.
"Hey Francis," Owain smiled warmly, "Come to help me with my homework?"
"Non, sadly not, mon cher," Francis shook his head, "I… I need to tell you something."
Owain immediately saw that this was a pretty serious topic. He shut his book, and moved his whole body around to face Francis, "What's up?"
"Well… There is no easy way to say this," Francis took a deep breath, "I have cheated on you, mon cher. With Matthew. I'm not going to try to pin the blame on him; I admit, he did come on to me, but I could've easily said no and walked away. And I have done it more than once. I am very sorry – you have the right to do or say whatever you want to me."
Francis looked at the floor. The shout of anger, the cry of pain, the slap of frustration – none of them came. He met Owain's eyes, and saw relief in them.
"I knew, Francis," Owain smiled a little, "I didn't know how far the two of you had gone – I thought it was just flirting between the pair of you. But that wasn't what was hurting me; it was that you hadn't come to tell me yourself. I thought you didn't trust me."
"Oh mon cher, no! I was so scared to lose you! It's not that I don't trust you… I really didn't know what to do… please, forgive me," Francis hung his head, placing a hand on Owain's shoulder, grateful that it wasn't shaken off.
"Francis, I never said I wouldn't forgive you," Owain smiled, tilting Francis' head up a little, "Thank you. I'm really not annoyed with you – I don't blame Matthew for flirting with you, and even though I wish you hadn't, I can understand why you responded to the flirting."
Francis wanted to melt with happiness! It'd been that easy?
"But…"
Oh.
"… I have something to tell you too," Owain took a deep breath, "Y-you're not the only one to kiss Matthew…"
Francis stayed silent for a moment, eyebrows knitted together, trying to make sense of Owain's words. Then it clicked. "What? Mon cher, you've kissed Matthew?" He wasn't angry, just confused to no end! They hated one another!
"It wasn't romantic or anything," Owain hung his head, "Alastair says it was like a fight. Just to prove that we were better than one another, or something stupid. I swear nothing was meant by it!"
Francis shook his head, smiling, "Oh Owain, don't apologise – it is me that is at fault."
"Well, seeing as we're both at fault, why don't we just let them cancel each other out?" Owain smiled, "We're quits?"
"Completely equal," Francis nodded his head, "From now on, neither of us is to flirt with others, or have kissing competitions, oui?" Francis smiled, nuzzling his nose into Owain's neck.
"Oui," Owain giggled, trying to escape the tickle of Francis' nose, "Thank you, Francis."
"We're equal, Owain – don't thank me, mon cher," Francis smiled, and gently leaned in for a kiss.
Owain responded perfectly, nipping at Francis' lips teasingly.
The tension that'd constantly been surrounding them the past few weeks had disappeared completely in only a few minutes, and God, the two of them were glad of it.
Heracles wasn't amused at Mr. Belischmidt.
That morning, he'd found a rather chunky envelope shoved through his apartment door which was just down from the school. He'd been pretty late that morning after a dangerously long over-sleeping-session, so hadn't had time to open it. But now, once he was home from stressful work, the content of the envelope was to be revealed!
Inside the brown paper lay more paper. Brilliant. Paperwork.
But it turns out Heracles was wrong, he found, whenever he opened the envelope, and found a rather thick document, with huge, emboldened and underlined capitals on the front reading 'TEACHERS' STANDARDS'.
Heracles frowned, looking for a note inside the envelope with an explanation. Sure enough, there was a very formal letter from the headmaster neatly folded up inside.
'Dear Mr. Karpusi
'Enclosed with this letter is the Teacher's Code of Conduct for 2012. I want you to understand that all employees are expected to read, understand and follow these rules. Please also note, I didn't set these standards. The government control these documents and their content, so if you have any problems, I urge you to contact them as oppose to me.
'Many thanks
'Mr. Belischmidt.'
Brilliant. He'd have to learn all this? Heracles frowned, probably half of the teachers hadn't even bothered opening theirs. But then again, if he ever wanted to be a legendary mathematician, he'd have to follow the rules set by his boss, thought Heracles. So, making himself a mug of coffee, he sat down on his small sofa and began reading.
Most of it was just boring stuff about teaching the correct curriculum to students, and not to be disrespectful and blah, blah, blah.
It was the last page that had caught Heracles' eye, and Mr. Belischmidt's little highlight's he'd made, as if to draw Heracles' attention to a certain point.
'PART TWO: PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT' read the title.
Heracles sighed, reading the little introductory paragraph.
Then came the highlighted point that Mr. Belischmidt obviously wanted Heracles to pay attention to.
'Teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school, by: treating pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher's professional position.'
Oh. Now Heracles got the hint. This was Mr. Belischmidt telling him indirectly 'stay away from Kiku, or I'll fire you.'
Sighing and skimming through the rest of the points, Heracles rolled his eyes, frowning. Of course his position as teacher would affect Kiku and him. There'd be no way they'd be allowed to date if he maintained his job as a teacher.
Just as he was half considering going to get a piece of paper to start writing a letter of resignation on, Heracles stood up and saw a little post it note flutter to the ground. He frowned, picking it up. It must've fallen off the document – no doubt another indirect hint from his boss.
He was wrong. Indeed, it was from Mr. Belischmidt, but on the fluorescently coloured piece of paper, lay a little informal note,
'What I don't know won't hurt me. – B'
Heracles stared at the note, then his face broke out into a grin. If this was what he thought it was, then this was his license to flirt with Kiku. As long as the headmaster didn't find out.
Without even thinking, Heracles ran out of his apartment, towards the school. He needed to talk to Kiku and convince him to get together with him again.
Come on, Heracles! He thought in self-encouragement, as he leapt over the gate gracefully.
Time to win back Kiku.
A/N
I'm sorry for the gap you guys! ;A; I can't even use schoolwork as an excuse! I don't even know what happened! I hope you haven't given up on me! X'D
But I think from now on I'm going to aim to get the chapters shorter, sorry DX that way, we can have (hopefully) quicker chapter updates, and then a bit of a smoother flow. Hopefully. X'D
And I'm sorry for the lack of USUK! D: I swear it is coming soon! I has an idea!
By the way, I wrote this chapter listening to 'She moves in her own was' by The Kooks~ I don't really know why – it's not even that a fitting song, but I think if you listen to it to, then it might give you the same sort of feel I got… Oh God idk, but it's a good song! So go Youtube it!
I'm sorry for the OOC Character-ness D'X
Lol so many apologies!
Thanks for reviews, guys! I less than three you allllll!