There was light all around him. In front of him, there was a figure that glowed brighter than the sun. He was in awe, unable to speak and nearly blinded. In an instant, the light dissipated. Standing there an angel, extending a hand towards him. He reached towards him. Inner peace enveloped him like a warm blanket. Suddenly he felt himself falling. Someone was calling out for him as he fell farther into nothing, darkness closing around him. The last thing he saw was a set of beautiful blue eyes.

Feliciano bolted up in his bed, breathing heavily and sweating like he'd run a marathon. It had all been a dream. Not only had it been a dream, he had dreamt about Ludwig the same way he was portrayed in the painting. He groaned and cupped his spinning head in his hands, willing his racing heart to slow down. Right then, he knew only one thing- he needed to get this stranger out of his head.

Frazzled, Feliciano looked over to his alarm clock. 6:10… he needed to be up in a little over ten minutes anyway. He tossed the covers off of him haphazardly and stumbled towards the bathroom. He switched on the lights, and when he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he was taken aback. He looked much worse than he had anticipated. There was a deep purple bruise under his right eye. His lip had swollen where it was cut. The Band-Aids on his cheek had fallen off overnight and began bleeding again, leaving dried blood stuck to the side of his face. He lifted his shirt to inspect his ribs, which were now covered in patchy bruises roughly the size of tennis balls. His arms and hands had a few minor scratches.

Overall, he felt sore. It wasn't awful, it was comparable to what you might feel the morning after an unusually intense workout. Still, it was far from pleasant or comfortable. Feliciano sighed, washed the blood off his face and put on a fresh, large bandage. He looked at himself in the mirror again. He had to admit to himself, he looked ridiculous. With the large bandage on his cheek competing for attention with his eye and lip that looked like bees had attacked him, it wasn't pleasant to look at.

Swallowing his pride, he opened the drawer below the sink. Among various other toiletries sat a small container of concealer. Its primary use was for girls to cover blemishes and the like, but Feliciano needed it to conceal various injuries. He used it a lot more when Lovino was around so he wouldn't catch on. He unscrewed the top and dabbed it around his black eye and the redness around his mouth, careful not to press too hard. He turned his head from side to side, examining his work. He was by no means perfect, but he looked better than before.

Still, he was grateful the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. Last year, Feliciano had been shoved, almost thrown to the ground in the parking lot and landed on his wrist. This had broken it and he had no choice but to go to his brother. Thankfully, he had managed to convince him that he'd simply tripped. It was admittedly a weak excuse and Lovino wasn't stupid. However, he wasn't one to push. Since high school began, Feliciano had become an expert in concealing various injuries. Long sleeved shirts, makeup, even making up excuses had become second nature. It helped that he was clumsy, so Lovino was used to him hurting himself anyways. Feliciano took one final look at his reflection and went to make himself a lunch before leaving.

The morning had passed without much incident. There had been a few comments about his face and he was pushed in the hallway once, but nothing he couldn't handle. Finally, it was time for lunch. Feliciano never ate in the cafeteria; it wasn't as if he had anyone to eat with anyways. Instead, he retreated to the side of the school. There, there was a small hill overlooking a forest preserve. It was tranquil, exactly what he needed. The weather was nice that day. The air was warm on his skin, birds sang in the distance. He unpacked his lunch, leftover pasta from the night before and fruit.

Looking up at the sky, he had a sudden flashback to one summer when him and Lovino were children. They had gone on a picnic with their parents, and they had played football until they were too exhausted to kick the ball anymore. They'd fallen asleep under a tree in the soft grass, and their grandfather carried them to the car without even waking them. The weather had been nearly identical to this. Feliciano lay down in the grass and closed his eyes to relive the memories.

He had almost nodded off when he heard footsteps close behind him. He opened his eyes and sat up, looking around in all directions trying to locate the source of the noise. His heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw Ludwig standing behind him. Instinctively, he began gathering his things.

"Sorry! I mean, I'll move, hold on." He said as anxiety clutched his throat. "I didn't know you wanted to eat here, usually no one comes here but me, sorry."

"Why are you packing up?" Ludwig asked. Feliciano's heart skipped a beat when he sat beside him. "I would like to eat lunch with you."

Feliciano froze. This, he had not expected. "You do?"

"I do. Do you not want this?"

"No! No, I mean yes. I mean, yes, let's eat together." He stammered. He put his things back where they were and waited for whatever was to come.

Ludwig paused to take out his own lunch. Was that…bratwurst? "You seem nervous around me." He said. Feliciano blinked. Well, he certainly didn't waste time.

"Oh, no. It's not like you scare me or anything!" Feliciano laughed, and it was not until after he stopped that he realized how unnatural it sounded. Moments like this made him wish he were a better liar.

Ludwig didn't verbally acknowledge the comment. Instead, he leaned forward and turned his head to get a better look at Feliciano's face. "Mein Gott..." he muttered.

"Huh?" Feliciano shot backwards when he realized Ludwig was starring straight at him. He didn't know what he'd said, it's not like he spoke German, but he could tell his words weren't out of happiness.

"Your face- you're hurt worse than I thought." He clenched his jaw and pursed his lips into a thin line.

"Oh…oh! No, no, I'm fine really!" Feliciano began to furiously adjust his auburn bangs to cover his bruised eye to no avail.

"Feliciano, it isn't difficult to see that you aren't fine." Ludwig leaned back and stared into the sky with eyes full of contemplation. Feliciano had never met someone so blunt and so confusing at the same time. Even though he seemed as though he wanted to be around him, when he spoke it sounded as if he was scolding him.

"Well, aren't your friends missing you right now?" Feliciano asked. It was the entire school's lunch period, so Ludwig surely had a group people he usually sat with. Feliciano expected that Ludwig would be well liked. Sure, he look intimidating at first, but the way he had gone out of his way to help Feliciano proved that he wasn't.

"No. I eat alone if I'm not in the weight room." He paused to swallow. "What about your friends?"

What friends? Unless you counted Lovino or the indiscriminate, nameless people that didn't want to hurt Feliciano, he couldn't say he had any real friends. Not wanting to make that confession, he simply shrugged. "How did you find me out here anyways?"

"I have seen you here before. Now that we know each other, I thought you might like some company."

Feliciano felt his heartbeat pick up as a spasm of embarrassment hit him like a punch in the gut. If there was one thing he didn't want, it was someone spending time with him out of pity. Not only that, but this was the first time he'd eaten lunch with another person since he'd come to the school. He shook his head, pushed the thought out of his mind and changed the subject. What else could he do?

"Ludwig, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

Feliciano paused, unsure he should ask. Thinking he had nothing to lose, he asked anyway. "How did you find me yesterday?"

Ludwig grimaced as if this was an unpleasant memory for him too, and Feliciano mentally kicked himself. "I had forgotten my jacket inside the building and had decided to go back for it. I was going to go through the back entrance when I saw what was happening."

"Why didn't you just walk away?" It didn't seem like an unreasonable thing to do, seeing as though his is what everyone else did.

Ludwig eyes flickered. He looked at Feliciano as though he'd been slapped. "What kind of person do you think I am? I saw someone getting treated like less than an animal; I simply couldn't walk away. That would have been shameful."

Feliciano was taken aback. "Well…thank you." He said finally. He managed to smile, even though it hurt. "Did you ever get your jacket back?"

"I found it in the office this morning."

Feliciano scanned his large frame. "Were you hurt?"

"No. They didn't put up much off a fight. I pushed the one that hit you with a rock, and they ran not long after." His face twisted into a slight grin. Feliciano starred at him. This was the first time he'd shown any sort of positive emotion. "I think they were actually afraid of me. I threw in some German words and they panicked."

Then, Ludwig laughed. He actually laughed. It was a deep, robust laugh unlike anything he'd ever heard. After the initial shock, Feliciano realized that it was pretty funny. He imagined the tough, mean boys running away like little girls from a spider and soon joined Ludwig in his laughing. After the little moment, Ludwig returned to his usual serious state. Feliciano was definitely intrigued by him now, more so than before. He decided to take a risk.

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Ludwig?"

Ludwig's face went blank. "What would you like to know?"

Feliciano thought for a moment. He wasn't used to small talk like this.

"Well, how old are you?" Even though they went to school together, Ludwig seemed so much older than him. His deep voice and build that resembled that of a tank just gave off an air of maturity.

"I am seventeen, and a junior."

Even though that was about what he had expected, Feliciano couldn't help but be shocked. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "I'm a junior too! But I'm sixteen."

Ludwig almost smiled. "You seem surprised."

"Kind of! You seem a lot older than me. Well, a lot of people seem older than me. A lot of people think I look young. But you definitely seem older than seventeen!"

"I've heard this more than once. Believe it or not I haven't always looked like this." Ludwig gestured to himself. Feliciano didn't have time to ask questions before Ludwig checked his wristwatch. "It looks like the period is almost over."

Feliciano was hit with a wave of disappointment. He was having such a nice time he had forgotten he was still in school.

"Feliciano?" Ludwig said. Surprised, Feliciano turned to face him, waiting for him to continue. "Do you still have my number in case there are anymore issues?"

He nodded. "Yes! Of course, I have it saved."

"Could I have yours?" Ludwig reached into his pocket and pulled out a mobile phone. He extended it towards him and waited.

Taken off guard, he hesitated before taking the device, opening it and adding his own number to the contacts. Ludwig thanked him before taking the phone back and grabbing his lunch bag. He stood up and was about to head towards the building before Feliciano called to him.

"Hey, Ludwig?" He interjected. Ludwig turned back to face him. "Same place tomorrow?" Feliciano immediately doubted himself. "I mean, only if you want to and you didn't have other plans-"

Ludwig cut him off. "Alright."

Feliciano wasn't certain, but he thought Ludwig was grinning.

To be continued...