Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

The sky was clear and lucid—painted with a gorgeous hue of cerulean blue. Not a single cloud roamed the horizon, marking the afternoon to live up to the essence of a lovely day.

Unfortunately for a certain trio, they were denied to enjoy the nice, warm weather as they were stuck inside the lecture room busy taking classes.

Sure, their involvement in World gig took away most of their school time, yet much to the shock of their classmates, they managed to maintain their grades in their respective curriculums. Then again, Kiku wasn't the least bit surprised. If there were one thing that he'll like to admit to being jealous of, it would have to be his envy toward his best friends and their astonishingly bright minds.

Despite being the oldest of the three, Gilbert always seemed to be the childish one and can be quite a pain in the ass at times. However, people shouldn't judge him too easily because although he slacks off from his work, he does show his seriousness through his exams. Dare him to read four books in a day and he won't hesitate to do it in a snap.

Besides Gilbert, there was Alfred who was a force to be reckoned with. Aside from being the ace of World gig, put him in a classroom and he'll do just about the same amount of damage in his performances.

In fact, the young man was a closet genius.

A great example of this was back in high school. When Alfred once declared he'd participate in the science fair, it triggered many of the students, including their science teacher, seemed to doubt him due to his rash behavior. Two months prior to his proclamation, Alfred was able to prove everyone wrong by winning first place and then going on to breaking the record for being one of the youngest to win the nationals.

If there was one thing that Kiku knows a lot about Alfred, it's that once he sets his mind to something, there's no telling how far he'll go until he reaches his goal.

'Speaking of which,' Kiku thought, taking this opportunity to glance at his surroundings. On the far right corner of the lecture room, sitting directly across the windows was none other than Alfred.

His arms were sloppily arranged all over his desk with one arm atop of his head and the other on his left cheek, serving as a temporary pillow for him to support his head against. Since his desk was closer to the windows, the glow of the sunlight reflected against the glass panels, hence, his sandy blonde hair appearing brighter than usual. His mouth was partly half open, revealing a trail of drool over the end of his lips.

To make matters worse, the idiot slept with his glasses still intact on his face.

'Arthur is going to kill him if he ends up breaking this one,' Kiku thought as he began mentally counting down the number of times that Alfred kept breaking his glasses each time he slept with them on.

Then again, Kiku wouldn't blame him for sleeping during class.

Since the hospital visit late last night, all Kiku could think about was whether or not if Lien and Xiao Mei were going to be okay.

Besides Alfred and Gilbert—only he, Yao and possibly Ivan (Yao might have told him since they're best friends) knew of the general situation—their mother was forced to go into an arranged marriage with this jerk named Yeung and then that's it. Kiku crinkled his eyebrows. Something was telling him that there was definitely more going. As much as he wanted to interrogate the sisters with questions that he's been itching to ask, asking them right then and now could definitely make things worse.

In the end, Kiku didn't ask.

However, due to his sudden impulse of defending his bespectacled best friend against his older brother, Kiku was temporarily kicked out of the house for a while. And so, he then resorted to staying over for one more night at Gilbert's place. In Kiku's perspective, this was for the best anyway as the tension between him and Yao was gradually escalating. Much to his surprise, Alfred decided to stay over as well, openly admitting that if he were to go back home, he would surely get a long lecture from Arthur.

Kiku shifted in his seat, frowning a little as he stretched out the collar of his white tee shirt. Looking around, he heaved a deep sigh. Everything about this lecture room that he was in—from its notorious seating arrangements; the disorienting blinking of the lights above the ceiling as well as the room's ridiculous size was hilarious. In his opinion, who's ever heard of a small room the size of a studio apartment filled with the capacity of fifty or more people? Not to mention the lack of air conditioners implemented within the walls, adding on to Kiku's growing list of dislikes in which suffocated him to no end.

Something lightly tapped him on the shoulder, prompting Kiku to break away from his concentration. However, the next thing he knew, a pencil was forcedly thrown right toward him, nearly giving him a heart attack on the spot. "What the hell, Gilbert?" He mouthed, though not too loud for the others to hear.

The albino shrugged, "I'm bored, Kiku." He pouted. "Entertain me, will ya?"

"Hell no." Kiku bluntly responded. Lifting his chin up, he caught sight of a clock located at the far end of the lecture room. "Be patient now." He assured to him, "We only have five more minutes left."

Hearing this, Gilbert grinned cheekily. "You know what that means, don't ya?" When he didn't receive a reply, the albino dramatically gasped, "You don't know?" He then resorted to answering his own question, "It's gonna be spring break, man! Five more minutes until spring break!"

Kiku shrugged, "Okay."

As much as he didn't like to admit, Kiku was secretly excited of the aspect of a long-rested vacation. The class in which they were currently in was actually the last one they'll be attending for the semester, making Kiku feel more than ready to run straight home and sleep for the rest of the day with no worries.

Since the beginning of college, his schedule mostly consisted of reports and recurring exams. Combine that with the occasional band practice and this increased the young man's desperate need for spring break to come and take him away.

Noticing Gilbert's sudden change of behavior, Kiku tilted his head in confusion, "What's with that weird look?"

"Alfred's asleep, isn't he?" Gilbert asked. Once receiving a nod of confirmation, his face brightened. "Hang on, I got an idea!"

Kiku rolled his eyes, "Gilbert…"

Fixating his attention back to his desk, Gilbert then proceeded to open his notebook and ripped out a page. With both hands, he then crumbled the paper together, forming it into a ball. Catching him with a wide smile on his face, Kiku could tell that Gilbert was up to no good. Knowing this, he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. "Please don't tell me you're gonna…"

Gilbert stopped what he was doing before looking up. "Come now, Kiku! Lighten up!" He said, grinning once more.

Kiku ignored the albino. "You're going to get in trouble!"

"Pssh, who cares?" Gilbert responded back, shrugging. Slyly turning his head back and forth to make certain nobody was watching them, he faced his best friend once more. "Yo, check this out!"

Before Kiku could protest, it was too late.

Using his strength, Gilbert took the paper ball and flung it, aiming it toward Alfred.

Quickly plucking his fingers into both his ears, Kiku immediately closed his eyes, knowing what'll happen next.

Once the paper ball had hit Alfred on the head—the two of them froze, anticipating for his awaited response.

Slowly fluttering one eye open, Alfred furrowed his eyebrows as he shifted in his seat. Lifting his head up, Alfred let out a long, tiring yawn before questioning his surroundings. It was then that realization hit him and without thinking, hastily arose from his seat while slamming his fists against his desk as he proclaimed, "AHHH!"

Alfred's sudden outburst erupted throughout the lecture room; causing the majority of the students to turn their heads toward his direction, completely clueless of his odd behavior.

This, unfortunately, also included the attention of their professor, Mister Vargas.

"Good to see you back with us in the living, Jones!" Mister Vargas cried with a rather maniacal laughter.

Kiku smacked a hand against his forehead, shaking his head back and forth. Of course, Mister Vargas would say something immature. Similar to Gilbert with Ludwig, it remained a mystery as to how their idiotic professor was related to the happy-go-lucky Feliciano. 'Families are indeed weird.'

Taking a slight peek over his shoulder, he noticed that the albino slapped both his hands onto his mouth before quickly veering the other way to stifle his laughter.

Meanwhile, Alfred, who was currently the main target of the class, scratched the back of his neck. Just as when he was about to address a formal apology, the bell rang.

"Wahoo! The class is over!" Gilbert cried with all his might, throwing the sheets off his desk all over the place. Hoisting his backpack over his shoulder as well as taking another miniature pack for his camera, he sprinted out the room; shouting enthusiastically as the albino pumped his fist into the air, "See ya later, losers! Spring break, here I come!"

As soon as Gilbert announced his departure, Mister Vargas bellowed out, "Hey, come back! You have homework!"

Hearing this, the rest of the class instantly bolted out from their seats in unison. Gathering their belongings, they hurriedly left the lecture room, following after the albino's example.

Alfred blinked, completely at a loss.

"You okay?"

Alfred turned to face his best friend, frowning, "Kiku, what just happened?"

Kiku shrugged, "You fell asleep during class." He said rather bluntly before letting a small smile slip off his face. "You can thank Gilbert later for waking you up."

Alfred chuckled, "Of course."

Collecting his pencil case and textbook from his desk, Alfred carelessly tossed them into the content of his brown messenger bag. He didn't bother to properly arrange them in order as he then put on the bag over his head. Looking back at his empty desk one last time, he began to walk forward with Kiku trailing after him.

"Jones! Honda!"

Both Alfred and Kiku paused for a moment, cringing. Exchanging looks, they slightly nodded.

"Run." Alfred uttered under his breath. And just like that, the two best friends sprinted for dear lives, leaving their professor alone in the lecture room.

Shortly after they entered the depths of the hallways, Alfred skidded to a halt, raising his arms and stretching them, letting out a satisfying groan. "That was a nice warm-up!" He commented.

Kiku stopped as well, "Still tired?"

Alfred shook his head, "Couldn't sleep last night."

"Let me guess, it's about Lien, right?" Kiku asked further.

Alfred stopped in his tracks, his cheeks turning beet red. "Is it really that obvious?"

Kiku nodded before reaching out to pat him on the shoulder in assurance. "Don't worry, I'm in the same boat as you with this." He reasoned, "It all happened so fast."

"Whatever happened to Lien and Mei's mom anyway?" Alfred asked, "I know that it's none of my business but I can't stand Lien looking so depressed like this."

"Same as I to Mei," Kiku said, agreeing with his best friend. Crossing his arms together, he continued, "If you must know, Aunt Hoa attempted to commit suicide that night. She was close to the borderline but thankfully; my brother and Ivan happened to be around the neighborhood and stopped her in time. Afterward, Aunt Hoa collapsed and well, cue the hospital visit."

"God, I feel awful," Alfred muttered, clicking his tongue.

"It isn't your fault, Alfred," Kiku assured to him, "It isn't anyone's fault. What happened happen, so let's just assume that okay?"

Alfred nodded silently, taking in the information. "Okay," He finally replied, unconsciously gripping onto the handle of his messenger bag tighter.

Here he was—always producing smiles and emitting laughter when there was someone like Lien. Hidden behind that beautiful, sweet mask of hers was someone who was suffering by herself. Putting two and two together, Alfred began to realize just how strong and capable Lien really was as a person. Knowing that, he couldn't help but slowly fall for her even more.

'Still,' He pondered to himself, pursing his lips, 'She should at least try to tell someone.'

Focusing his attention back on the path ahead of him, Alfred's eyes slightly widened. Bucking in his knees, he began sprinting again, surprising Kiku.

"Alfred, what's the matter?" Kiku cried exasperatedly, trying to keep up.

Alfred ignored him and instead, resorted to shouting aloud with an arm raised high to perform a wave, "Raivis, Eduard, Toris!"

The group of individuals stopped and turned, unanimously mirroring the same expressions as the other. One of them stepped forward, their shoulder-length brown hair slightly bouncing prior to his movement, his emerald green eyes brightening upon recognizing the bespectacled young man.

"Alfred!" Toris greeted, "How are you?"

Slowing down his pace, Alfred managed to catch himself in time before colliding into them. Grinning cheekily, he responded with, "Great! How are you guys?"

"Pretty good," Eduard stated, tweaking his glasses in place. "Is there a particular reason why you came to us?"

Scratching the back of his head, Alfred laughed, "Good eye there, Eduard," He commented, "Actually, yeah! There is!"

"What is it?" Raivis quickly asked, letting his curiosity get the best of him.

Alfred's sky blue eyes twinkled with eagerness. Just as he was about to speak out his mind, something hit him against his back. Switching his focus from the three men by proceeding to turn around, Alfred beamed upon discovering an exasperated Kiku in front of him. "Oh, there you are, Kiku!" He addressed to him, chuckling. "Took you long enough!"

Hearing this, Kiku hung his head in dismay while trying to catch his breath. "Next time, tell me if you're going to be running off." He warned, initially glaring.

Alfred laughed once more, patting him on the shoulder, "Well, you're here now, aren't you?" He said simply. Turning back to face the Baltic trio once more, Alfred asked, "Umm…now what was I saying again?"

"You said something about Eduard having a good eye," Raivis reminded him as he then lifted his short, curly blonde head high with rare confidence.

Alfred snapped his fingers, "Oh yeah!" He chirped, "I wanted to know if your gig has got any plans for the next two days."

"Star Fest has a tight schedule," Toris explained, getting straight to the point. "And I don't think Yao would like for any of us to get distracted when the final round is just days away."

Alfred frowned, folding his arms, "I see."

Taking note of his sudden behavior, Eduard narrowed his eyes, "What's bothering you now?"

Alfred quickly shot his head up, quickly explaining, "Oh, I was just wondering if it's possible for Star Fest to go on an outing together with World gig."

"Are you serious?" Kiku cried abruptly, joining in on the conversation. "Alfred, you know that your brother—"

"Isn't here," Alfred interrupted, his voice sounding surprisingly serious. "Yeah, I know that."

"You realize how risky that's going to be?" Toris cried, being the voice of reason.

"Not only are you going to put yourself in a pretty bad position, Alfred," Eduard began as he stepped in, "But it's also going to cause a lot of tension between our two bands."

"What's the harm in that?" Alfred asked, masking his worries with another laugh. "Aren't we all friends?"

"Yeah, but that's another ballgame," Raivis explained as he cautiously pressed a hand against one of his eyes.

"You have to accept the concept, Alfred," Kiku said, heaving a sigh. Suddenly, he felt something vibrate in one of the pockets of his pants. Shoving a hand inside, he then pulled out to reveal a cell phone. Once he turned on the electronic device, Kiku was met with a startling text. Swallowing thickly, he quietly muttered out, "Alfred, it's time to go."

Sensing the hesitation in his best friend's voice, Alfred looked over his shoulder and raised a questionable brow, "Huh? Why? What happened?"

"Gilbert's already at the plaza," Kiku stated in a hurry. Glancing down at his wristwatch, his eyes slightly widened as he added in, "And we're gonna be late again."

"Shit, it's already been that long?" Alfred cried. Turning to face the Baltic trio once more, he emitted a winning smile, "Gotta run! But think about it, will ya?" He continued, letting out a hearty laugh. "It's great seeing you guys again! Let's hang out sometime!"

Hearing this, Toris nodded in response. "Will do."

Bidding their farewells, Alfred and Kiku both bolted through the halls once more.

"Now are you sure you don't want me to accompany you two, aru?"

Xiao Mei puffed her cheeks. "We're not kids anymore, Yao!" She exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. "Isn't that right, sis?"

Xiao Mei frowned when she didn't get a response. She then motioned over to face her older sister who seemed preoccupied staring at the basket of fruits within her arms.

Taking note of her quietness, Xiao Mei began waving her hand back and forth in front of Lien, "Sis? Hey, you okay?"

Lien quickly blinked, prompting her chin up. "Oh, yes," She said, feeling embarrassed. "I am fine."

Xiao Mei furrowed her eyebrows, disbelieving her sister's words. "Are you sure you're sure?"

Lien nodded firmly, "Yes, I am." Raising her head a little more, she narrowed her eyes. Beyond the half-open tinted windows of the car, seated on the front left side where the driver's seat was located, was none other than the familiar silhouette of her mention. She respectfully bowed her head down. "We'll get going now." She said politely, "Thank you once again, Yao."

The ponytailed young man bobbed his head. Needless to say, no further questions were asked. "If you ever need anything, remember that I'm only one call away, aru."

"We know!" Xiao Mei chirped merrily.

Yao chuckled, "Do be careful."

The two sisters took a step backward, quietly watching the shadow of a small black car wisped away into the streets. Lien knew how very dedicated Yao was when it came to the role of being both a brother and temporary guardian to them and Kiku. Though at times such as this, it was best for him to not become involved.

No matter how close a person was, to Lien, it would only cause even more complicated consequences.

"Mei?"

"Yeah, sis?"

Finally facing her sister, Lien asked once more, "Why don't you lead the way?"

Xiao Mei beamed, forming thumbs up. "Sure thing!" Linking her older sister's right arm with hers, Xiao Mei hurled her heel before proceeding to enter the entrance of the Union hospital. After registering their names at the counter, they headed to the staircase.

"You know, the weather's pretty nice to go somewhere." Xiao Mei began, starting the conversation.

Lien raised an eyebrow. "You have something in mind?"

Xiao Mei frowned, "I don't know…maybe karaoke?" She wondered, pressing her lips together. Suddenly, her chocolate brown eyes twinkled with excitement as she exclaimed with, "Oh! The beach!"

Lien chuckled, "Maybe. But for now, mother is top priority."

"Yeah, I know," Xiao Mei, added in, sticking out her tongue playfully. "But do you think Yao would mind?"

Lien shrugged, "I hope so,"

Once they reached the designed floor, they continued walking to the room in which their mother was stationed. Standing right before the door, Lien stretched an arm outward, preventing her younger sister from going further. "Remember, mother is asleep," She noted sternly, "Lower your voice, okay?"

Xiao Mei snorted, "Come on, sis! You know me."

Lien wasn't unconvinced as she continued to stare at her sister intensely, waiting for her response. "You sure?"

Wrapping her hands around her elbows and hunching over, Xiao nodded obediently, "I'm sure."

"Thank you," Lien said before pulling back her arm, allowing her sister to take the initiative to twist the knob and push open the door. The second they entered the hospital room, Lien's heart nearly stopped beating.

Right there—in front of them stood a masculine figure. In spite of his actual age, his physical structure—from his fair, porcelain skin and lack of wrinkles—he did look and acted quite young, almost to the point of being deemed by Xiao Mei as a vampire. His short jet-black hair and devilish silver eyes were strikingly recognizable for Lien as to his actual identity.

The very sight of him made Lien's blood boil.

This was the man who self-proclaimed himself to be their mother's 'fiancé' and the very same one responsible for their mother succumbing into suicide.

Xiao Mei gasped, pointing an index finger at him. "It's you again!"

"Yeung, Dae." Lien sneered, clenching her teeth.

"Long time no see, Lien." The man called Dae greeted with a sickly smile, "You too, Mei."

"You don't have the right to call her that name," Lien interrupted, referring to how he entitled her younger sister with her nickname as if to imply their supposed friendliness. "Why are you here?"

Dae rocked his head to the side, "Why shouldn't I? I am your mother's 'fiancé'." He explained simply, crossing his arms as he said so. "Which means we are family."

"We are not family." Lien cried, emphasizing her words. "And just so you know, the wedding is off."

"Oh, but is it really?" Walking toward the bedside, Dae dropped a hand and began tucking a loose strand of hair behind their mother's ear.

Witnessing this, Lien growled. "Don't touch her!"

"Mother practically committed suicide!" Xiao Mei protested, backing up her sister, "You cannot expect her to keep going with this!"

Removing his hold from their bedridden mother, Dae wriggled his eyebrows. "Well, ain't that such a shame?" He said, chuckling lowly, "Why don't either of you take her place then?" Inspecting the two sisters, he fixated at the youngest. "How about you, doll face?"

Without thinking, Lien took a step forward, "Please, not my sister." She cried, "Here, let me take my mother's place."

Dae whistled, "What a plot twist."

Xiao Mei pulled her older sister to the side, whispering, "Are you mad?"

"Mei, you don't understand," Lien whispered back, this time with her voice evident with confidence. "This is grown-up stuff."

"This doesn't make any sense!" Xiao Mei cried frantically.

"Mei, lower your voice!" Lien cried in an attempt to ease her sister.

"Lien, let me marry you," Dae began, prompting the sisters to stop what they were doing and look up. "Believe me, I'll spare your mother and sister."

Lien held her breath. "If I do marry you, will the large debt that my late father owed you be cleared?"

"Once you become my bride," Dae explained, "I will seek to it and it'll be gone at once."

Lien unconsciously took hold of her sister's hand, gripping it as tightly as she could. Biting her bottom lip, she nodded firmly, sealing the agreement. "If that is the price it takes, then I'll accept."

Xiao Mei gasped, "Sis, what are you—"

Dae's smirk lengthened from ear to ear, clapping his hands slowly in a mocking manner. "Music to my ears!"

Distancing himself away from their mother's side, he approached Lien once more, licking his lips suggestively. Taking her hand with his, he forcedly pulled her in, closing the space between them.

Taking note of this, Lien quickly raised a finger against his lips.

"It's best to wait until the wedding." She explained, controlling her patience.

Dae gave her a blank expression before eventually nodding in response. "Smart girl," He commented, releasing his hold on her arm.

Xiao Mei's eyes widened with horror. "You can't be serious—" Unfortunately, she wasn't able to finish the rest of her sentence as she was once again interrupted by her older sister.

"When is the wedding?" Lien asked.

"In five days."

"But that's around the time as when the third and final round is!" Xiao Mei exclaimed, ready to pull out her hair in aggravation.

Dae shifted his attention over to the youngest of the duo. "Is that a problem?"

"No, it isn't," Lien, said quickly. Clearing her throat, she continued, "I will be looking forward to it, Yeung."

"Please, call me Dae." He informed her, his cold silver eyes shining with rare excitement. He then leaned over, close enough to Lien's ear. "And I can't wait to see you in that wedding dress."

Lien froze, eyes widening. "…You knew?"

"Oh, I always did," Dae admitted to her, chuckling. "And you look ravishing in it."

Lien formed her hand into a fist, ready to knock him out with her signature punch.

Only, she couldn't.

'I can't,' She thought to herself, sneaking a glance over to her bedridden mother. 'Not when I'm this close to helping mother.'

Dae walked past Lien while extending a hand to touch the ends of Lien's ponytail, letting his fingers linger in between her hair strands for a brief moment.

Luckily, Lien took note of this.

However, when she was about to retort, Dae was already marching toward the exit. Dae turned around; watching the two sisters from a distance in the corner of his eye before producing another sickly grin, "See you at the wedding." Once he was satisfied with what he said, Dae closes the door behind him, causing a soft click to ensure his departure.

A few minutes later, Xiao Mei hastily stomped toward her sister with her arms folded over her chest. "What on earth were you thinking?"

"The right thing, Mei." Lien answered simply, "And I'll continue to do what I can in keeping mother safe from that monster."

Collecting her sister's hands together into a knot, Lien squeezes them, her amber eyes ignited with a new purpose in mind.

"Please, I beg you. Whatever you do, don't you dare tell anyone about this." Lien ordered Xiao Mei, "Not Yao, not Kiku. No one."

Xiao Mei frowned, "Not even Alfred?"

Lien let out a measured sighed, tightening her grip on her sister's hands again, her next set of words confirming her sister's suspicion. "Especially not Alfred."

"Uh-huh, I understand." Francis said as he bobbed his head repeatedly. Lifting his head up, he took notice of his childhood friend who entered the living room. "I'll let him know." Withdrawing his phone from the edge of his ear, he then pressed the middle button, ending the phone call.

"Who was that?"

Francis stood up from his seat on the large coffee-tinted couch in an attempt to get into comfortable seating. "It depends." He said, scratching the facial hair on his chin, "Would you like to know?"

Arthur arched an eyebrow, growing curious. "Does it concern me?"

"It's Alfred," Francis answered straightforwardly, "And if you must know, he was asking if our band was doing anything tomorrow."

The expression on Arthur's face immediately turned sour. "Are you f**king kidding me?" He grumbled lowly, raising his voice, "For the love of God, that bloody idiot didn't bother to show up last night and he's asking for the band's schedule? Who does he think he is?"

"Your brother." Francis pointed out, "And all he wants is for your approval on something."

Arthur sighed deeply. Placing a hand on top of his head, he began to massage his forehead. Though he disliked getting himself involved with his one of his brother's shenanigans, he couldn't help but give in. Damn him for being a gentleman. "And that is?"

Francis paused for a moment before responding, "A visit to the beach."

Turning their heads toward the entrance of the living room, their ears perked up upon hearing a loud array of footsteps echoing through the halls.

As if on cue, Michelle popped her head out near the frame of the door, her pigtails dangling past her right side as she tilted her head a bit more. "Did somebody say the beach?"

"I wanna go to the beach!" Peter piped in as he emerged from behind Michelle, "Come on, let's do it!"

Arthur simply waved his other hand, "No, we're not going."

"Are you kidding me?" Michelle cried, folding her arms. "You're so boring!"

"The beach, Arthur! The beach!" Peter whined, bouncing up and down in excitement.

Regardless of their complaining, Arthur held his ground. "No."

"What's going on here?"

"Ah, Allistor!" Michelle chirped as she began to drag in the older man along and into the living room. "Stupid Arthur doesn't want us to go to the beach!"

"Yeah!" Peter cried, puffing his cheeks. "Allistor, you gotta say something!"

Arthur frowned deeply. "Where's Matthew?"

"He's off walking his dog," Allistor explained, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Tilting his head, he continued with a playful smirk, "Why? Not excited to see me, Artie?"

Arthur twitched. Whipping his head the other way, he inwardly glared at his childhood friend once more, "Frog, do something!"

"Hey, hey, don't look at me!" Francis cried, hoisting up his arms in defense.

"You were the one that started this in the first place!" Arthur argued while retaining his calm composure. "You just had to bring up that bloody idiot!"

"For your information, that bloody idiot is your brother," Francis countered back, "You're just overreacting."

"Awww, would you look at this?" Allistor began, referring to the childhood friends and their childish bickering. "It's like watching a funny soap opera."

"Mind your bloody business, Allistor!" Arthur barked, losing his tolerance.

Allistor stifled a chuckle. Pressing one of his fingers underneath his chin, he continued on, "Now that I do think about it, a beach trip ain't so bad." He said, voicing out his own opinion.

"We didn't ask you," Arthur noted him, his voice dripping with venom.

Allistor ignored him. "Think about it." He reasoned, shrugging, "The final round is in less than a few days away and stressing it over would make things worse. Going to the beach would not only put aside some practicing on hold but it'll surely help ease the peer pressure within the band."

Francis whistled, "He's got a point there."

"Yeah, come on, Arthur!" Michelle commented, siding with the redheaded man. "You won't regret this!"

"The beach, the beach!" Peter chanted enthusiastically, making puppy dog eyes.

Arthur couldn't help but sigh deeply. In the back of his mind, there was a voice telling him not to surrender. As much as he wanted to keep rejecting, he knew that they would keep going on annoying him until he approved. Running his fingers through his hair, Arthur finally responded with, "Fine."

Both Michelle and Peter shrieked in glee, clapping their hands excitedly while bouncing up and down on the carpet as if they had won the lottery.

"Yay, we did it!" They both cried in unison.

"Just because I approved that we're going, doesn't mean you all should slack off!" Arthur added in, his strict demeanor resurfacing. "Is that clear?"

When neither Michelle nor Peter bothered to respond back, Allistor took this opportunity to reply in their place. "Will do, Conductor." He said, saluting.

Arthur lowered his head down in dismay. Now that the trip to the beach tomorrow was officially established, next came another problem. Besides him, Francis and his family, including Peter—nobody else doesn't seem to know that Allistor was temporarily here in town. With that said, Arthur could already imagine the various kinds of faces that the others would produce upon meeting him. The good news, however, was that the majority of the band members were recently recruited and therefore, that only left Arthur to console privately with a few of the oldest such as Roderich and Elizabeta. For Arthur, this was considered to be a positive thing as it helped to save him from having to get involved in a potential fight.

A light pat on his right shoulder prompted Arthur to pause, losing his train of thought. Sighing, he asked, "What do you want now, Frog?"

"Don't make that kind of face," Francis said rather matter-of-factly, patting his distressed childhood friend once more for reassurance. "You know, it's just a trip to the beach. What could possibly go wrong?"

Author's Note:

I would like to formally apologize for not updating as how I regularly should. But thank god, AP exams are finally over! And here it is, the thirteenth chapter of World 'Goes Round! This time, we finally get to see more of Lien's background and the appearance of the mystery character, Dae Yeung! (at this point, I can assure you that he is now a key character so please watch out for him in the future!)

As much requested, characters that appeared in this chapter are: Ancient Rome (Mister Vargas) and the Baltic trio: Estonia (Eduard), Latvia (Raivis) and Lithuania (Toris)

What exactly is Alfred's plan on getting World gig and Star Fest together?

Lien suddenly accepts and replaces her mother's place at her arranged marriage! How would that impact Alfred and Lien's relationship?

More importantly, how will everyone react to Allistor's sudden appearance during the beach episode?

Oh and for those who are fans of the birthday chapter, you will also enjoy the beach one as well.

As usual, I would like to say thank you so much for the reviews, readers and fans of this fanfiction! Without you, this fanfiction wouldn't keep going!

Once again, I'm open for more character requests!

And as usual, your opinions are greatly appreciated!

*Today is my birthday and I decided to use the whole day to my advantage on finishing this chapter for you guys! (Have fun reading~)

P.S. This chapter gives out tons of foreshadowing so please look forward to it!

P.S.S. For the next update, check out my profile as I will currently update when the next chapter will be out! (Thank you!)