Chapter 4: October 9th

"…need pesticides and fertilizer. Who can name the other two substances that farmers need to increase yields?"

Few in the class raised their hands, some deciding not to, others not remembering the class's earlier lesson. The teacher, Mr. Compton, searched the class for someone to answer. "Yes, Mei?"

"Higher yield seeds and machinery."

"Correct. Now, on that topic, L-D-Cs generally get all of their supplies from M-D-Cs…" Matthew sighed, scribbling away at his notebook. He had already read the chapter and done the homework working alongside Lovino in their free time. He glanced up looking around bored; maybe something would happen that way.

Lovino sat across the room absently tapping his pencil against a notebook. Next to him sat Alfred, glancing between Mr. Compton and someone at the back of the room. He didn't pay it too much attention, focus already drifting towards other thoughts. He probably already knew Alfred was looking at it. His brother wasn't one to hide his intentions, no matter how ridiculous or not. That was one of the only classes he shared with both his brother and one of his brother's friends, if you could call him that. From what Matthew had seen, Arthur Kirkland thought of Alfred as an annoyance. He wondered sometimes how his brother had managed to become close to Arthur… It didn't make sense, not in the least.

Okay, Alfred didn't even bother hiding the fact that he had a crush on Arthur, it was painfully obvious. The Brit didn't seem to notice, though. Lost in his thoughts, Matthew didn't even notice when the bell rang and students began shuffling around to gather their stuff together until his brother landed a slap on his back.

"Hey, Matt, aren't ya' coming to lunch?" Alfred smiled tossing a glance over his shoulder as he watched Arthur leave to the class. "Come on! I'm getting hungry!"

"When the hell aren't you? You even eat while we're backstage during rehearsal," Lovino had come out of nowhere, arms crossed over the strap of his satchel, "which you know isn't allowed, bastard."

Alfred flashed a smile towards Lovino before motioning out the door. "I know, Mr. Abides-by-the-Rules! You know, you can always go ahead, I don't think Antonio would like you being late again." Lovino flushed brightly and scowled, making to slap at Alfred's arm.

"Fuck you; I don't care if Antonio cares." Matthew rolled his eyes, starting to tuck away his things into his book bag. Lovino was bluffing, of course. If anything, Lovino was trying to play it off as if they weren't close. "He can wait the rest of his life there if the idiot wants to."

Matthew had to stifle a short laugh at Lovino's word choice. They already knew that Antonio would wait forever for the irate Italian, he had stated those exact words out loud during lunch once, or twice… or most always. No, it was most always that he proclaimed it to the other. Shaking away his thoughts, Matthew stood up and gestured for his brother and friend to start walking towards the dining hall with him. Thankfully though, it wouldn't take long to get there since it was only a short walk out of the building and into the next one over. Although that was only due to their schedules, which fluctuated between classes like a college would. Some days, it would take longer, forcing them to run most of the way so they didn't have to wait in one of the extremely long lines for food.

They joked a bit on the way there, although at some points it was more like Lovino chastising Alfred.

Silently, he looked around, hoping to catch at least a measly glimpse at white hair. Gilbert had said that he would put a plan into motion today. One that involved Antonio being late for lunch instead of Lovino and possibly giving Antonio the courage to finally say something to Lovino later on. Of course, neither of them knew if this plan would work, but he wanted to believe that Gilbert's plan was foolproof. Especially since according to him, Antonio was looking for a time to actually confess to Lovino.

As soon as they got to the cafeteria, Alfred pulled Lovino into line before Matthew could notice. One second they were next to him and the next, they were already in line. He sighed, shaking his head at his brother's antics. Having already bought a sandwich during breakfast time, Matthew decided to head straight to the table where they sat at on a regular basis. He also had to check if Gilbert was there already or if he was stalling Antonio. He hadn't exactly given Matthew much information on how he was planning to make Antonio late.

Getting to the table, he saw Gilbert talking casually with Francis. But no Antonio in sight. He sat down across from them, letting his book bag slip off of his shoulder and onto the ground next to his seat. Looking to make sure that Lovino wasn't anywhere near done buying his lunch, he asked Gilbert about how he was going about the plan.

"Easy, Mattie. I told Antonio I wanted to help. So, we agreed that he would surprise Lovino by buying his lunch and then ask him to eat together, just the two of them." Gilbert smiled, mouth stretching wide. "Isn't that the most simple and awesome plan ever?" Matthew shook his head, it definitely couldn't be that easy to get them together.

"Are you sure that's going to work?"

"Wait, are you two trying to set them up?" Francis asked, looking at the two of them suspiciously. Matthew nodded at his cousin. "I feel like that won't end up well for the two of you, knowing how Lovino is and all."

"I just want to help them. I don't exactly know how much Lovino likes him, but I know enough to say that he might have a crush on him at least." Matthew tilted his head, thinking back to how many times Lovino would randomly bring up Antonio in conversations or would act embarrassed around the Spaniard. "It's not much trouble."

"And Francis, you know how much Antonio is in love with that kid." Gilbert added. "Like I said, all I did was encourage him to finally confess using Mattie's name as a booster! Antonio would believe it since Mattie shares a dorm with Lovino."

Francis sighed, placing a hand on his head. "You do not need to force these things. Love is love. If they like each other, they'll eventually confess to each other. Plus, since you're unsure of Lovino's standing, you might have just sent Antonio on a mission to break his heart."

Matthew sighed. Francis had a point. Lovino hadn't asked for help, but he felt like it was something that would make him happy. If something went wrong, he could just talk with Lovino to get it fixed. He liked helping others, so he had no qualms with doing so. "I don't think that's going to happen…"

"Matthew, you might be trying to help too many people. I know you're trying to help your brother get his crush as well. Are you not trying to get someone for yourself?" Francis asked, picking up his coffee to drink from it. Matthew paled a little. What was with people asking him about his love life? It was kind of embarrassing. And while Francis had a point, he wasn't helping too many people… just his brother and Lovino…

"I don't like anyone that way, Francis," he replied, blushing and looking down at his food. He wasn't exactly lying about that either. Well, even if he was he'd be putting it off anyways. Francis gave him a weird look, tilting his head in thought.

~ooXoo~

Still blushing slightly from the unexpectedness of Antonio coming up behind him, Lovino kept his head lowered a bit. He could still see Antonio's legs, allowing him to be able to follow the other without bumping into anyone.

He didn't need Antonio to pay for his food, though he had done so before Lovino could do anything about it. Still, when Antonio asked him to eat with him (plus Alfred pushing him to do it) he agreed. He just hoped no one tried to start gossiping about them, again. They were friends, nothing beyond that.

"Lovi?" Blinking, he looked up at Antonio, a confused expression on his face. "I asked where you wanted to sit down." Lovino looked around, glancing at the open tables, before nodding towards the last table near the door that lead to the dining hall's patio. It was near windows, as well as being one of the tables that was more private.

"Over there," he headed straight for it, not bothering to check if Antonio was behind him or not. Once he had sat down and set his tray in its place, he looked up to catch Antonio's attention. "Okay, so why exactly did you decide to today to eat with me if it's one of the only days everyone can eat together?"

Antonio just smiled, laughing a little as he sat down across from him. "No reason, I just- ah, felt like it?"

"I don't believe that."

"I really did just feel like eating with you today!" Antonio exclaimed, leaning forward onto the table, "is that so bad? We grew up together, I shouldn't really need an excuse to." Lovino just huffed a little, picking up a fork to start eating the small salad he had gotten with his entrée.

Although he had known Antonio since he was little, it was a little weirder for them to spend time together. Maybe it was just that that they grew into different hobbies and different friends. But Lovino was sure that it was something else that was making things a little weird. And their friends joking about them dating or liking each other didn't really help.

Maybe that was because Lovino felt like he did like Antonio in a romantic way. Maybe it was the fact that Antonio had been by his side the longest and was grateful for that. But he did like the other… though he wouldn't exactly tell anyone that. Lovino was pretty sure that Antonio only liked him as a friend. Which was why he never acted on it, nothing would come from it.

"You couldn't have asked a girl to eat with you? There's a whole bunch that would love to date you."

"I guess so, huh?" Antonio chuckled, rubbing at the back of his head. "But, I asked you for a reason, Lovi."

Lovino blushed lightly, feeling like someone had upturned cold water on his stomach. "I thought you agreed to not call me that anymore. It's childish and yet you keep calling me that."

"I don't remember agreeing to that."

Huffing out, Lovino just went back to eating knowing that he wouldn't be able to get Antonio to stop with the nickname or get a straight answer out of him. That was just useless since the other had apparently never even tried to stop using the nickname he had come up with when they were five. Of course, his brother still used it (having learned it from Antonio), but that was his brother. Aka: a family member, a person Antonio was not. It was kind of weird now that they were in high school, almost seventeen years old.

In front of him, Antonio had started eating too. Glancing up, he caught the smidge of a frown on his face. Antonio frowning? That couldn't be possible. What would he even have to frown about?

"Anton—"

"Lovino." They blinked at each other, stopping awkwardly to let the other finish. "Ah… you can go first."

Lovino shook his head, motioning for Antonio to go, "it was nothing important." He set down his fork, giving the other his full attention. "What were you going to say?"

"Well," Antonio started, looking uneasy. Was it just a weird day and something had happened to make Antonio act like this? Lovino furrowed his eyebrows, looking at him with a confused expression. What on earth could Antonio feel uncomfortable with when they had been friends since they were toddlers? Making a confused face, Lovino motioned for the other to continue. "Lovino…"

Why did Antonio sound like he was regretting something?