Exams are over, so I hope to be updating more quickly now, but I do apologize for my absence! I'm sorry if I kept you waiting ^_^; But nevertheless, I have this new chapter and shall update as soon as possible! I appreciate your patients!

I woke up the next morning, hot and uncomfortable, but in less pain than before. Francis was sleeping beside me; I had meant to tell him he could sleep in his own bed that the hospital had prepared for him to stay with, but it escaped my mind. I absentmindedly stroked his hair, liking the way his hair felt through my fingers, not that I'd tell him, of course.

The sun streamed through the cracks in the blinds, filling the room with horizontal strips of bright white. The room itself was dull, and pleasantly empty. I hoped that people would decide to go home and not visit me anymore, however the chances of that were slim indeed.

For the week before I was allowed to return to my dorm at school, Francis hardly left my side, telling me he wanted to stay and mess with my needlework. On occasion, when it was quiet, I'd read him more of Pride and Prejudice, disliking speaking in French, but enjoying watching the faces Francis made as the drama unravelled as it did.

I got many visitors as the week passed, like Alfred and my brothers, who had reluctantly decided to get on with Francis, just for my sake, probably. Ravis often visited, leaving me with more worries every time he had to go, usually being taken away by Liet or Eduard, or on occasion Ivan. The Russian really did concern me. I hated to think what he'd been caught doing to Yao to illicit him being so angry towards the Latvian boy, but I couldn't do much about that.

When I finally got back, the school had given me an extra week out of lessons to sort myself out, which seemed strange to me, but I couldn't complain if I got time out, though I dreaded how much I would have to catch up.

Problem struck on the very next day after coming back. Until that morning, I had still been in the strange hospital dress it seemed like all patients had to wear. The fact that I'd been in hospital due to my hips widening, although repeated, had lost its meaning, so when I tried to pull on my favourite pair of skinny jeans and found that they would no longer fasten it came as quite a surprise.

I decided to look at myself in the mirror, something I liked to avoid, since I was always met with the same messy hair, bushy eyebrows and skinny frame. It seemed like no matter how hard I worked out, although my muscles were toned, they never got bigger… it really was rather pathetic.

As I looked at myself then, it finally dawned on me. My hips had definitely widened. I could see that very clearly. They weren't like some of the girls in the schools' hips, but they were definitely wider than they had been by about two inches, according to my trousers.

I sighed exasperatedly at the mirror. I was going to have to start wearing those maternity trousers just because of my hips, even though I wasn't really even showing yet, though all I'd have to do was give it a month and it'd be pretty obvious. I was at the stage where it wasn't obvious unless I was standing in only my underwear and looked, because the muscles in my stomach had softened and there was the tiniest bulge in my lower stomach, hardly noticeable.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands wind their way around my waist, encircling me in an embrace that I knew only too well.

"Hello, Francis." I said, sounding unhappy.

"Bonjour, mon cher." He said brightly, kissing my neck "You look radiant."

"I do not!" I protested loudly, trying to wriggle free of his arms.

"Oui, you do! You look beautiful!" he said, holding onto me tighter.

"Get off of me, you bloody frog!"

"Non."

"And why not!?"

"Because you need to be reminded of how beautiful you are," He told me, moving to look me in the eye "Angleterre, Angel, I love you. And you will always be the most beautiful person in the world to me… except me of course" He said with a little laugh.

"Idiot…" I say quietly, wondering how he could possibly find a freak of nature like me attractive in any way.

"Listen to me!" He said a little more forcefully "You are gorgeous! I will always love you! You will always be beautiful! Don't ever feel like you are not, you are still my petit lapin, oui? Just like before. You'll always be the most beautiful person I know." He told me, holding my wait and looking me in the eye. His blue eyes were full of sincerity.

He always did this when I felt unsure of myself, and would argue with me until I gave in and told him that I was pretty.

"Now, who is the most beautiful person I know, apart from myself?" He asked, looking at me with a little smile.

"Fine… you win… it's me, now shut up and leave me alone you vain prick…" I said, wanting to finish getting dressed for the day.

"Oui, oui, I'll be in the canteen eating breakfast if you need me, Angleterre." He told me, with a quick kiss before he left.

I pulled off the jeans and pulled on some of the trousers we'd bought when he'd dragged me out shopping. I had to admit to myself that they were incredibly comfortable. It was a little humiliating wearing them, but I tried to get past that fact as I pulled on one of my regular shirts which still fit just fine. I completely ignored the sundresses in the cupboard. There was no way in hell I was ever going to wear something like that!

I decided to join Francis in the canteen, as I'd stopped feeling so sick in the mornings. I still didn't have much of an appetite, and whatever I ate seemed to just sit in my stomach for the rest of the day, so I just had a cup of tea and a crumpet or two.

Since my empire had dissolved, my table had been severely downsized. I wasn't sure what to think, as it always seemed much too large as not everyone was ever there at once. There was no-one sat there at that point, and I wondered whether I should go and sit at the EU table, even though I didn't like sitting there much, even though Francis did.

I decided to sit by myself, avoiding the stares of the people realizing I had returned to school. I just wanted to leave. Most people knew now of the news, and I hated the feeling that everyone was talking badly about me. I didn't want to think of the names they'd surely be saying about me behind my back.

After a few bites of my crumpets, I found that I wasn't hungry, so I dumped the rest of my food in the bin and took my tea with me to the library where I saw Lili again. She really seemed to like that library. She liked books like me, and since her brother removed her from lesson to go there so frequently, I could understand why.

I sat beside her, sipping my tea and getting out my copy of Pride and Prejudice "So, have you finished it yet?" I asked, looking over at her with a smile. I could be friendly at times. I was actually quite pleasant sometimes, but people forgot that.

"Oh! Not yet." She said, shyly "I don't read that fast, but I've almost finished." She told me with a smile.

"Where are you?" I asked, liking the casual conversation and the way she didn't stare at me like an oddity.

"Lydia has just returned with Wickham and I don't know why he's being so nice all of a sudden…" She said thoughtfully.

"I'm afraid I can't really answer that… I don't really know, and I've read that book many times." I said. There was no way I was going to admit having read it to the frog, so I just conversed with her more about the book before she had to go to class and I was left alone again.

It always seemed like that. I could spend time with people and for a while, I could forget my loneliness, but everyone leaves and everyone has their own lives. That's part of being an island I guess… No matter what, an island is separate and no-one wants to spend to long with one. I had a feeling that if I could get to know Iceland better, we'd have things in common, but the problem was that we were both quite adverse to strangers and mistrusting to people we didn't know well.

I sighed and read my book for hours and hours, until I turned the last page over again, holding onto the worn book, read so many times, the binding starting to come apart, the loose pages fluttering dangerously, the spine broken in a million and one places, and the pages yellowed with time. It felt good in my hand. It had just the right weight and was just the right size. I ran my thumb over the pages making them flick across making the flapping sound which was so lovely to hear. I loved books, so much more than any other way of reading.

I didn't hate tablet computers, or reading from screens, but something would always be missing from it. I liked the weight of books, the feel of the spine, the pages that smelt just right and I loved seeing my bookshelf stuffed with book after book. Tablets just seemed so… so empty. There was no other way of saying it. They felt empty.

I wondered around the school grounds for a while, admiring the gardens and smugly looking back at the buildings where everyone else was studying, except me, or so I thought. As I turned a corner, I saw a familiar face.

"Lukas!? What are you doing out of lessons?" I exclaimed seeing the Norwegian.

"I felt ill this morning, so I'm taking the day off." He said, watching a game of football. It took me a moment to realize that I'd walked all the way to the football pitch. Football was one of my favourite sports, even if I wasn't the best at it…

"Fair enough… is there a bug going around then?" I said, sitting down to watch the game.

"No, I don't know… I tried asking my troll but he's being unhelpful…" He said, watching Mathias playing football enthusiastically, pulling his shirt up over his head and running around the pitch in celebration before knocking into a just as excited Prussian who fell on the floor laughing.

"Yeah… fairies are weird like that…" I told him, but I had the feeling he wasn't really listening, more watching the Dane who occasionally waved over at him or made kissy faces at him. After a while, I spotted Francis who didn't seem to be having nearly as much fun. He didn't mind sports, but he wasn't a fan of getting muddy, or sweaty, or running around, or being on the losing team. He hadn't noticed me, which was fine, because I could see he wasn't in a good mood, and I didn't want to tickle the sleeping dragon.

By the end of the game, Francis's team lost and the Dane's team won. Mathias rushed over, and started babbling loudly to the Norwegian who just nodded disinterestedly and walked with him to the locker room. I decided to get up and go back to my dorm room. I was getting bored of being in the public and felt like I needed some space for a while.

That's it folks! Sorry the chapter is so short! I just need to get back into writing a little more! I'm in a bit of a creative block, but don't worry, I'll try my best to keep going! I'll update as soon as I can, but until then, I love reviews and I will always reply to them in a PM if you send me one! I don't get many so they always brighten my day ^_^;

Question time!

Will Francis ever convince Arthur into one of those dresses?

What's going on with Ivan and Yao?

When should the wedding be?

What's going on with Norgie?

Did I just make a Harry Potter reference, and did you get it?

Reviews are love! ^_^ and encouragement to post new chapters faster! ^_^;