(Hey guys! I haven't updated anything in a long time, have I? Well, I'm at a writer's block with most of my stories, and you know how those can be. Anyway, I decided to write a new story while I get over it. Hope you don't mind Tica in it. I used to write using her all the time, so it's hard to not now. Okay, so the characters in this will likely be OOC, Out Of Character. Still, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, but Via is my OC.)

Rain poured down at an alarming rate as Gilbert Beilschmidt walked to school. He hadn't bothered to bring an Umbrella, he didn't care if he got wet. The black fabric of his school uniform stuck to his skin, and his black hoodie was nothing more than dead weight, but he didn't care. Today was the first day of the new semester, and he feared he and his friends-Francis and Antonio-wouldn't be in any classes together. Gilbert shuddered at the thought of not having them there to defend him from that monster that plagued him every day.

Gilbert shivered in the January cold, wondering if he would freeze before he got to the academy. If only.

The albino walked into the intimidating building, looking around the room for the other two boys. He spotted them and began to walk in their direction. "Guten Tag," he muttered as he stopped in front of them.

"Hey, Gilbert." Francis smiled as his friend sat next to him. "Get your schedule yet?"

"Ja," he replied, pulling out a sheet of blue paper. "You?"

The two waved their papers up. Gilbert took them and looked through the three. He had absolutely no classes with Francis or Antonio what so ever. The albino sighed heavily. They would have to meet during lunch, he supposed.

After about fifteen minutes, the bell to go to class rang, and the three parted ways. Gilbert snuck into a large group of freshmen, hoping to avoid the terror that comes with being seen by Ivan. He was almost to class when the cluster broke up, leaving him exposed. Gilbert shivered and bolted down the hall, not looking up to see who he ran by.

And he ran right into Alfred.

"Hey, watch it!" The American shoved him onto the ground, the albino's school supplies falling all over the floor. "Geez, keep out of my way, freak." The Prussian's hood flew off, his pure white hair more of a mess than it had been when he awoke. He hit the ground with a thud, Alfred turning away and continuing to walk down the hall, a scowl on his face.

Gilbert panicked and threw his hood back on before he began to collect his things. He cradled his supplies close to him and ran down the hall, ignoring the voice calling to him from behind.

Tavia sighed. She didn't know him, but she felt obliged to help him. The girl sighed and looked down at the paper in her hands, and her eyes widened. It was a sketch. It showed a young boy standing in the middle of the page - appearing to be about six or seven - smiling and holding a German Shepard puppy in his arms. His blond hair was in a mess, and his eyes could have been sapphires. He was dressed in white. Behind him, a shadow stood, white spaces on its face that represented tears. At the top of the page was written, 'You Are My Thread.' She then noticed the noose around the shadow's neck. Tavia stood, staring at the picture. She bit her lip as She folded the picture up and tucked it in my pocket, and silently began to walk down the hall.

Gilbert sat in his history class and stared blankly at the board, not listening to what his instructor had to say to him. He glanced out the window, watching the pole-vaulting team warm up. I found my focus setting on a white-blond sophomore, who sat talking to Elizabeta as the burnette pressed down on her back. She had a rediculous amount of flexibility, her head turned to the side with her cheek on the ground, arms out. She then stood and did the same to Elizabeta, who could barely touch her chest to the ground. Still, the two talked to each other carelessly, both smiling and laughing at something that they had said during their conversation.

"She's good," the albino muttered to himself, tapping his pen on the desk. The team had appearently finished stretching, and were now lining up to try their first jump, Natalia first, then Elizabeta, then a few others. The blond girl was near the end of the line, so Gilbert focused on the front. Natalia wore the red t-shirt and white shorts uniform of the team, but still had her signature bow atop her head, and had refused to pull her hair back. The coach blew the whistle, and he sighed as Natalia began to run to close to the bar, and she ended up landing face-up on the mat. No one did much better, other than Elizabeta. Karima's feet hit the bar and she nearly missed the mat when she fell, Laura barely landed on her feet when she came up short, Lilli backed down because she felt the bar was set to high for someone of her height, and Michelle went underneath the low-set bar.

Gilbert sighed quietly, disappointed. He figured watching the last girl was a waste of time, but he decided to do so anyway. She spoke to the coach, who seemed surprised at what Gilbert believed to be some sort of request, but nodded. He shouted something at the group by the bar and walked over, the girls moving aside. He clambered onto the mat, stood and unhooked the bar. He stood up on his toes and placed the bar as high as he could, from sixteen notches up to twenty-three.

He backed away. The blond girl took the pole and backed up 100 meters, definitely farther than any of the other girls. Her entire expression had changed. Her carefree smile was gone, and her eyes were focused on the high-set bar. Then, she ran. She ran as fast as she could. She held out her arm, pulled the pole back. Gilbert bit his lip, his breath stopping.

50 meters, 40 meters, 30, then 20, then 10, then-

"Mr. Beilschmidt!" Gilbert snapped to attention, staring at the board. The instructor was tapping his fingers impaitently on the desk.

"J... Ja...?"

"Answer the question."

"U... Um..."

The instructor sighed heavily. "Never mind, Alfred, can you answer?"

Gilbert turned back to the window. The girl was standing to the side of the mat, an overconfident smirk on her face, and the entire team was gathered around her. "I guess... she made the jump..."

The team appeared to be asking her to do it again, but she shook her head in decline. Something about not wanting to show off, he guessed.

The bell rang. Gilbert stood, took up his things, and left the classroom without a word.