"Hey! You bastard wake up!"

"Huh..? Who are you?"

"I should be asking you that!"

The boy only smiled in response, much to Lovino's annoyance. It was a friendly kind of smile, one that Lovino didn't see a lot of now a days. Lovino gave the other boy a good look, he had curly brown like chocolate hair with piercing green eyes. They almost looked like emeralds by the way they sparkled in the sun. The boy looked short, but Lovino couldn't tell because he was laying down on the grass.

"I'm Antonio!" he suddenly sat up and offered his left hand to Lovino. He smiled once again, "Nice to meet you!"

Lovino stood there dumbfounded, he snapped back to reality within a heartbeat. He had never seen this kid- Antonio, anywhere in town before, until now. He kneeled down next to him, not too close, but close enough for both of them to be comfortable. Antonio still held out his hand, still smiled. Lovino just stared at him with a scowl, until he finally took his hand.

"So, what's your name?" Antonio asked.

"Lovino," he replied.

"I like your name, Lovino!"

"What are you doing here?" Lovino wanted to know. Normally, this was Lovino's spot, next to the tree and by the river bank. No one came here, at least not when Lovino was there.

"I live on the other side of the river, over there," Antonio pointed to the old house on the other side. "I went out for a walk and fell asleep here, you see-"

"What happened to the old lady?"

"Uh, yeah she moved," Antonio said, sounding a bit bored. "My family lives there now," he quickly added.

Lovino looked at the house, then back to Antonio, a scowl never leaving his face. He was a little taken back when he found Antonio staring at him. He seemed to be staring at him with a bit of curiosity too. Lovino didn't say anything, he didn't know what to do or tell him, and it felt like they were sitting in silence for hours.

"How old are you?" Antonio suddenly asked, his eyes meeting with Lovino's.

"You are full of questions aren't you?"

"So are you,"

"I'm twelve,"

"I'm older than you!"

Lovino scowled again. He was hoping Antonio would be the younger one between the two, now Antonio would want to boss Lovino around like he was some sort of little kid.

"You better not think you're the cooler one just because you're older!" Lovino almost yelled the words at him. He didn't want to be looked down on because of his age.

"Relax! I'm only a year older than you, plus I think you're pretty cool," He gave Lovino a quick smile.

Lovino quickly turned his head to the side, staring at everything but Antonio's eyes. He couldn't see Antonio's face. but he could tell he was frowning.

"You don't even know me," Lovino stated, still not looking at the boy but instead staring at the river next to him.

"Lovino why don't you smile?" Antonio asked, a hint of sadness in his voice. He was in front of Lovino now, sitting in front of him, a bit closer than before.

"Geez! You really do ask a lot of questions!" Lovino was annoyed by now. It wasn't because he disliked Antonio, in fact he was enjoying his company. But it was Antonio's friendliness that made Lovino feel strange. He didn't like the feeling, not at all.

Antonio chuckled. Lovino wanted to push him into the water.

"What can I do to make you smile?"

"You can leave this place forever and never come back,"

"Aw come on I can't do that now can I? I just got here!"

Lovino smiled a bit, he couldn't believe how much of an idiot Antonio was.

"Woah! You smiled! You're really cute when you smile!"

"Don't call me cute! Men aren't supposed to be cute!" he was embarrassed, he didn't know if "cute" was a compliant or an insult. He decided it was an insult.

"But Lovino, it's okay! You're not a man yet so it doesn't count!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Lovino could feel the heat in his cheeks, he could tell they were red from embarrassment.

"I'm saying you're a boy, and boys can be called cute without there being a problem!" Antonio was grinning at him now. "A lot of girls call me cute!"

"Well yeah that's because it's okay for them to call you that because they're girls but when a boy says it- it's just weird!"

Antonio stopped smiling. He looked a lot more serious now, and Lovino was feeling nervous that he might of said something he shouldn't have.

"There's nothing wrong with giving someone a compliment, Lovino."

Lovino was silent, he wanted to die of embarrassment. He was sure he had made Antonio mad somehow. They sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"...Lovino?" Antonio asked, he sounded worried.

"You are obviously not American, where are you from?" Lovino wanted to change topics as soon as possible, he didn't like the awkward feeling surrounding him.

"I'm from Spain!" Antonio beamed proudly. "And judging by your accent, I bet you're Italian aren't you?" Antonio winked at him.

Lovino was surprised for a bit, but his lips quickly changed into a smirk.

"You think you're so smart huh?"

"Oh Lovino, I know I'm smart,"

"Well I think you're an idiot,"