A/N: Here it is. The final chapter. Posted on my birthday, too!

Onze, fin

Countless missed calls and unread messages lingered the cellular phone Arthur thought would barely work in The States. He couldn't stomach listening to or reading the messages and on Sunday night, responded to Alfred's attempts with one simple message: "After school tomorrow. West side. Oak tree."

Arthur spent most of school day in the Student Council room when not in class, giving everyone the excuse that he was busy catching up with backed-up work; the only time he had seen Alfred was in Calculus class. Luckily, the test was a fantastic enough distraction to avoid speaking to him before their destined meet-up time.

Before the last bell rang, Arthur made his way to the West side of the school, where a quaint courtyard boasted its greatest resident, the Oak tree. A small smile snuck onto his lips, Gilbert's body propped against the tree nonchalantly.

"I thought you quit smoking two years ago," Arthur said, walking up to his good friend.

"Yeah, well, I still like to hang out here," Gilbert answered, his crimson eyes locked on the light grey clouds above. "So," he said after a bout of mutual silence, "when do you wanna get that phone, Mr. Hermit?"

Arthur sighed, regretting his decision to lock himself in his room for most of the weekend. The sound of the final bell ringing brought the Briton's attention to the courtyard entrance, spotting Alfred walking into the greenery. "After this," he said softly.

"Oh shit," he heard Gilbert say behind him, before the silver-haired teen expertly made his way towards the courtyard exit.

The two blondes faced one another, mere feet apart before Arthur widened the distance by leaning up against the tree. The thought of this conversation made Arthur feel the least bit nauseas, his eyes tilted up in awkward sympathy. "Hey," he said, hoping to end the silence.

"Hey," Alfred said, almost in a stutter. "Are… you feeling any better?"

Taking in a healthy dose of air, Arthur kept his eyes low, trying not to focus on those puppy-like eyes. "Well. Not exactly…"

Alfred stepped closer, closing the distance and leaning down to peer up into the Briton's eyes. "What's up, Arthur," he said, his voice full of concern and his eyes with just as much floating in those blue pools.

Just looking at Alfred was heartbreaking enough. With a shuddering breath, Arthur held back his tears and looked into his boyfriend's eyes with earnest sympathy. "I don't know how to say this without hurting you."

The concern on Alfred's face slowly morphed into confusion, his feet taking him further back from the tree.

It took all of Arthur's strength, all of his breath to even think up the following words he was about to say, but it had to be done; leaving things to rest in secrecy only ended in harsher heartbreak, and he did not want Alfred to go through that. He closed his eyes, composing himself before releasing the venom from his unfaithful tongue. "Alfred," he started softly, "I slept with Francis in Paris."

Alfred's eyes widened with shock, his mouth hanging open in near disgust as the poisonous bite began to infest his every pore. "Wh-what?"

"It was a mistake at first, but…"

"At first! You mean you slept with him more than once?" The American's voice boomed throughout the courtyard, but not the way it usually did; his tone was full of hurt and anger.

Arthur looked forward, punishing himself for making his boyfriend react in such a way, for breaking a heart that was so devoted to him. "Alfred," he said, wanting to reach out but resisting the motion due to fear and regret.

"He broke your heart, Arthur," Alfred spat back, still finding ways to defend the person now breaking his own.

"I know, he did, but…"

"But I guess you just wanted to take a stab at mine."

Alfred injected his own lethal dose into Arthur. Silence hung in the air, the two blondes nearly swimming in a pool of hurt, shame, and regret. "Please don't make this harder than it already is," Arthur said, holding back the choked sobs that were aching to spew from his mouth.

"Yeah? Well how do you think I feel?"

Arthur couldn't answer, because he knew how it felt, but in a different way. Walking into the Student Council room to the surprise of Francis deep inside another student was a harsh way to end a relationship. And yet, that same cheating bastard had stolen his heart once more, had revealed an undying love for the Briton. Arthur left his answer for Alfred in the silence, reflecting on how foolish a person he had been.

"So, I guess this is it, huh," Alfred said softly, a loud sniffle following his tearful words.

Looking up, Arthur saw the tears stream down Alfred's pouting face, his eyes red and narrowed in heartbreak. "I'm sorry, Alfred," he choked out, wanting this entire afternoon to disappear, wanting to see that blonde smile brightly in his expertise.

"Don't," Alfred said, shaking his head and walking towards the courtyard entrance.

Arthur stared at Alfred's hunched back, letting the tears fall softly from his eyes, until the American teen vanished from his sight. He broke out into a sob, sliding down against the tree and falling into a pathetic ball on the ground.

After what seemed like days, a shadow leered on the ground towards Arthur's body, catching his attention soon after its emergence. "Well, that was…" Gilbert started to say, a pensive look on his face.

"Rough," Arthur said in a cough, standing up and drying off the chilling tears from his face. "But it had to be done. I can't live with that weight on my shoulders, and it's not fair to Alfred anyway."

Gilbert simply nodded, placing a gentle hand on his best friend's shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. "I'm here for you."

Rolling his eyes, Arthur let out a small laugh before glaring up at his friend. "I can blame you for all of this."

"Me? Whoa," Gilbert yelled, but there wasn't much to follow besides the chatter of students walking past the courtyard to their dormitories; the two knew how this whole thing started, with one request to join in on a week of Parisian sin.

"You know," Arthur said, making his way toward the sidewalk, "I'm not going to Oxford next year."

Like a white flash of lightning, Gilbert propelled himself in front of his friend, his red eyes wide and burning. "What the fuck? Is this a joke?"

Smiling, Arthur shook his head. "No, it's not."

"Arthur, you worked your ass off to get into that school!"

"I was on the phone with my father and admissions nearly all weekend; I'm not going to Oxford," he said, stopping and staring straight into those concerned flames. "I'm going to Columbia University instead."

The German native froze, eliciting a laugh from Arthur at the odd contortions of his face. "Wait, Columbia? As in..?"

"Yes, Gilbert," Arthur said amidst a blush. "I'll be in New York come August."

The sound that erupted from Gilbert's lungs shook the sidewalk beneath their feet. His arm wrapped tightly around Arthur's neck and the smile on his face could probably break the skin on the silver-haired teen's face. "This is fucking awesome! Holy shit, Arthur, I'm freaking out. You are so living with us, there's not even a question to that."

Arthur stifled a laugh, still feeling it a time inappropriate for celebration; despite the news, someone's heart was still broken in the process, a thought that would forever sting at Arthur's core. "I figured as much," he said, the two of them nearing the concrete archway that led to the South exit of the school. Arthur's green eyes scanned the archway and a soft blow of wind brought their attention to golden waves and azure gems beneath them. "Francis," his lips mumbled.

Unfortunately, not even the sensual smirk on the French teen's lips could distract Arthur from the bloody bruise invading the whole left side of Francis' face.

"Oh my God!"

"C'est rein," Francis said, stopping Arthur from further fret, the English teen bolting towards him. "I just bumped into Alfred on my way out."

"Bumped is putting it lightly," Gilbert said, his lip twitching.

Arthur stopped his fingers from irritating the fresh injury and instead kept them to himself. "I'm sorry," he said, tears threatening his eyes.

Shaking his head, Francis placed his hand upon Arthur's cheek, his serene smile and aura evaporating those tears away. "Pourquoi?"

Arthur heard ten years of love in Francis' voice, ten years he hoped would stabilize a much longer and happier relationship; infidelity had sunk its hungry teeth into both of these lovers at least once, and hopefully it didn't have any more juicy fruits to offer. He smiled and lowered his head, backing away from Francis lest he be further tempted. "No, not until Graduation, remember?"

"Graduation?"

Laughing, Francis looked away in defeat, merely standing by Arthur's side as the three of them left the school grounds. "Oui, Gilbert. Arthur has put a date on the continuation of our relationship."

"Because it wouldn't be fair to Alfred," Arthur said, a prominent pout on his lips.

"Arthur, I think you've gone far beyond being fair to Jones."

The Briton shot a glare back at his friend, hoping the remarks would end. "I know," he said in a tone that could've turned those words into profanity.

Gilbert merely laughed, but again, knew when to stop speaking and once Antonio and Lovino were spotted and invited into the collective, distracted himself with his task of the day: a new phone for Arthur.

Surely, playing out some sort of chivalry towards his new ex-boyfriend was the least Arthur could do, especially after seven months of innocent love. But Arthur's heart had always belonged to another, and that fact alone had always played against Alfred's infatuation with the Briton.

Despite their rocky past, Arthur could sense a lifetime with Francis ahead of him; no matter what stepped in their way, the two would always be drawn together, and eternally crazy for one another.

the end

I know, a bit of a cheesy ending (phrasing wise, at least), but I think it's cute. Thanks so much for sticking with me this whole time. I'm really glad that you've enjoyed it so much, and even if you haven't, thanks for reading anyway. I'll be back with several prequels (at least ONE, for sure) and perhaps a sequel for this. I love my "Gakuen"/High School AU-verse for this series and I want to get some burning questions you might have had answered in other fics, some of which will feature different pairings! O: But I have to write them, haha.

So again! Thank you. I love you all. So much. :3

~erbby