Title: Wilted Rose

Series: Axis Powers Hetalia

Pairing: America & England / Alfred & Arthur

Rating: T

Genre: Romance, Humour, Drama

Warning: Shounen-Ai, Human Names, Alternate Universe, Minor, Original Character

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction by a fan for fans. Axis Powers Hetalia rightfully belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.

Chapter Five: Inbox (198)

Arthur tapped the butt end of his pencil on the table and looked from the teacher to the wall clock above the blackboard. He suppressed a scowl when the damned clock hadn't moved since he last checked; instead he let out a small tsk and looked back at the teacher.

The tapping had gotten louder, faster and his pencil was snatched away by a glaring Angélique. Arthur scowled at her but she easily ignored him and placed his pencil far away from him.

"Give me that back!" Arthur hissed low-enough only she could hear.

"No way, you're annoying." Angélique replied stubbornly with a shake of her head. "You weren't even taking notes, anyway."

Arthur opened his mouth to tell Angélique off but was silenced by a quick look from the teacher. He slightly bowed his head and backed off from her just as she stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes at her childishness and looked back to the blackboard. Two seconds later, he was looking back at the wall clock.

A sigh came out of his lips when he saw that the minute hand had moved. One minute closer to the end of class and the end of school for the week. He drummed his fingers on his knee and absently stared at his teacher, wishing she would just dismiss the class because no one was really listening anyway.

I miss you so bad, Artie.

Arthur blushed, bending his head down a little and tried to cover his red cheeks with his hand. It had been four days since that unfortunate incident where his phone had been destroyed, three days since he had left it with the shop and four hours since Eduard had sent him a message on Priya's phone that his phone was fixed. He quickly glanced up at the wall clock again and looked back down. There was only fourteen minutes left of the day and he was getting a little bit impatient.

A low groan escaped him before he could stop himself as he thought of Alfred. He had been a great guy—a bit too loud, over excited and too friendly but Arthur couldn't deny the fun he had during the summer. Of course, there was that problem of Alfred invading his personal space and stealing a couple of kisses here and there but he had stopped after a couple of days.

Arthur couldn't deny his attraction to Alfred the moment they met at the parking lot and he tried so hard not to appear childish, he tried to act like a mature adult but he usually ended up making a fool of himself.

You know, you look cute when you're pissed.

Arthur very nearly slammed his head down on the desk at the memory. He had a hissy fit over something stupid but Alfred just laughed it off and even complimented him but what did he do? He had another hissy fit, only this time it was aimed at the American. It hadn't been a onetime thing, too. It happened a number of times and Alfred would just laugh it off every time, sometimes even bribing Arthur with McDonalds, which never worked.

What if he's had enough?

Arthur mentally choked at the thought. It had been four days since they had last communicated, their last conversation had been during his lunch period but he had been really busy that he rarely replied to any of Alfred's messages since school started.

Alfred might have already gotten over him, Arthur groaned. He was an adult, he had a stable job and he had his adult friends that were most definitely better than a scrawny teenage kid with a temper problem—a teenage kid who needed to be paid for during their outings. Good god, it was like having a kid brother! Happy meals, the zoo and heck, fishing—it was like father and son summer bonding!

Slam!

Oh shite. Arthur gulped, looking at the hand he slammed down on the table when he was too caught up in his thoughts. The entire class went silent as they all stared at him and even their teacher had stopped her lecture to look at him. Without looking beside him, he knew Angélique was trying not to grin.

"Mr. Kirkland." Arthur flinched when he heard his teacher's sharp tone. "I had already told you and everyone in this class how much I dislike being interrupted."

"Er, I apologise, ma'am." He quickly muttered, feeling two inches tall and wanting to bury himself. "I-It won't happen again."

"Yes and please don't let your mind wander during my class." His teacher added before resuming her lecture about trees and climate change.

Arthur let out a small sigh but he wasn't sure if it was for being relieved for not getting detention or for being dejected over his thoughts concerning Alfred. He had never been called out in class before, he had never broken a rule in school and he should've felt bad, panicked even, that he had broken the rules for the first time but he didn't. He had even forgotten about the teacher already and his thoughts were back to a certain American that, he was convinced, hated him and would never talk to him ever again.

The sound of the dismissal bell echoed throughout the school and snapped Arthur from his thoughts. He looked around and saw that his classmates were already packing their things while some were already out the door but as impatient as he was just a while ago, he was now just as scared to leave the classroom and go to the mall to retrieve his cell phone.

Angélique poked his cheek using his pencil and giggled when he glared at her. "Come on, Artie. I know you're just dying to get your phone back."

Before he could speak, Angélique had pulled him off his chair and was dragging him out the classroom. "Thanks for the class, Ms. Serena!"

"You're welcome, Ms. Bonnefoy. Have a nice weekend." Their teacher replied with a smile then resumed packing her things.

"Will do, Miss Serena!" Angélique giggled before finally leaving the room with Arthur. "Artie, what's with the scowl? It's time to head to the—oh, shoot. I still have Art class. Damn."

Arthur sighed, he didn't need Angélique to go with him to the mall and in fact, he hadn't wanted anyone to go with him but now that he had his doubts, he wanted at least one friend to go with him when he would turn his cell phone on and read the messages.

Sensing her friend's unusual discomfort, Angélique took out her cell phone and began to text Priya, "But don't worry! I'm sure Pri's done with her classes, she'll go with you so she can tell me everything tomorrow."

"Hey!" Arthur flinched at the loud, cheerful voice and was almost too afraid to turn to the owner of said voice.

"Hi, Beta." Angélique smiled at their upperclassman and at Raivis, who was quietly following Elizabeta.

"It's a good thing we caught up to you." Elizabeta grinned and pulled Raivis to her side, her arm around his shoulders. "Raivis has phone problems and I'm getting good vibes from you."

Forgetting about Alfred for a moment, Arthur grunted when Elizabeta looked at him. "Don't you have reports to do?"

"I'll do that later—priorities, Artie, priorities." Elizabeta laughed then patted Raivis' shoulder, "So, it's settled then?"

"I hope you don't mind." Raivis quietly spoke, slightly shaking.

"Of course not, you're welcome to come along, Raivis." Arthur responded kindly at the shorter male before glaring at Elizabeta, "However, I can't say the same for Elizabeta—you have reports to submit. I refuse to do your work—"

"Don't worry, Artie—"

"It's Arthur!"

"—got it all taken care of."

Angélique clicked her tongue, "Well, since you all have got it settled, I'll be heading to my class. Adieu."

"I'll call you later." Elizabeta grinned as she waved Angélique goodbye.

"Sure." Angélique grinned excitedly, "Oh, and Priya's waiting by the gates."

Arthur sighed, giving up the losing battle knowing how stubborn Elizabeta could be. He saw the nervous smile Raivis offered him and he forced himself to smile for the both of them. Standing beside Elizabeta, the freshman looked even shorter and more frightened; Arthur could only hope that the young lad wouldn't be traumatized by anything their council president would do.

"Well, let's go!" Elizabeta cheered too excitedly for Arthur's tastes.

xxxxx

By the time they had arrived at the mall, Priya had successfully routed Elizabeta's attention towards her. How she managed to do it, no one knew but Arthur and Raivis were grateful.

Unless Elizabeta talked to him, Raivis wasn't much of a talker. He preferred to fidget and look around cautiously. Arthur was sure this was something the young lad had to fix or needed help with but he was too caught up in his own worries to really worry about anyone else at that moment.

"Hey, Arthur!" Eduard perked up when he saw the group approach his shop. He quickly ducked down, looking for Arthur's phone in one of the shelves. He emerged a couple minutes later with a box in hand. "Good news, she's as good as new."

Arthur tried to smile as Eduard took out his phone and handed it to him. He held his phone and simply stared at it, he didn't make a move to turn it on or anything.

"Arthur?" Eduard called, tempted to wave his hand over his friend's face.

"He's fine, he's just happy he got his phone back." Elizabeta laughed and gave Arthur a hard pat on the back. "Snap out of it, Artie! And just turn that thing on!"

"Oh," Eduard spoke up and looked nervous, "Um, see that's the bad news. It ran out of juice so, he has to charge it at home first."

Elizabeta frowned while Arthur sighed in relief. "What? And I wanted to read the messages, too."

Eduard chuckled nervously at the loud girl and turned his attention back to Arthur, "If there's anything wrong with it just come back or stop by my place."

"You live alone?"

Eduard blinked, shocked at the question as he looked at Elizabeta and answered, "Oh, um, yes, I live alone."

"Oh, I see." Elizabeta nodded absently but cast a knowing look at her male companions. "Good, very good."

"Uh, thanks, Eduard." Arthur finally spoke as he pocketed his phone, "I'll let you know if there are any problems."

"You're welcome." Eduard smiled genuinely at his friend.

"Hey, Raivis, didn't you have a problem with your phone, too?" Priya asked with a light nudge.

"Oh, yes, I do." Raivis nodded at the taller girl and stepped up towards the counter. "Um, e-excuse me…?"

"Yes?" Eduard turned to Raivis.

Raivis placed his phone on the counter, his cheeks lightly flushed red, "I-It won't turn on." He gulped, closing his eyes as he did. "I-I had it charged because I thought it was the batteries but it didn't work. I bought a new battery but it still didn't work. I charged the new battery but it still didn't work. And then I—uh, nothing works."

"Did you drop it or something?" Eduard asked as he inspected the small black phone.

"No, I didn't—um, the cat. It was the cat." Raivis looked down, embarrassed. "The cat jumped on the bed and the phone fell…"

"All right, I'll just see what I can do." Eduard smiled, "Give me a few days or so. You can come back here after a week."

Raivis quickly nodded, "Okay. Thank you!"

Elizabeta grinned happily from behind Raivis and shared a private joke with Priya. Arthur paid Eduard his due and the group left. Upon Elizabeta's insistence, the four of them found themselves sipping refreshments in one of the nearby cafes.

"I can't wait for that new café near the school to open." Priya said excitedly, "Emma just can't keep shut about it."

"I know, she even got me excited." Elizabeta rolled her eyes.

His pocket felt as if it weighed a ton. Arthur had a small urge to throw his cell phone away but that meant he was a coward and he liked to believe that he wasn't. With a heavy sigh, he placed his drink down and leaned back on the chair.

Elizabeta grinned at Arthur's direction before turning to Priya and jabbed her thumb at him, "He is so not happy I'm keeping him here." Then she turned to face him, "Artie, would you relax? An hour won't make a big difference and besides, we're here to celebrate for Raivis."

"What?" Raivis snapped his head up, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Oh, you don't have to hide it, Raivis." Elizabeta smiled at him almost motherly as she patted his shoulder, "We're supportive of your cause, nothing to be ashamed of. We can clearly see you have a thing for that phone guy."

"W-What?" Raivis very nearly crushed the drink he held in his hands, "N-No! H-How… That is… I-I… Y-You… I-It… No!"

Pitying the younger boy, Arthur gave his senior a look. "Oh, belt up, Elizabeta. You're going to scare away future volunteers."

"Fine." Elizabeta crossed her arms with a small pout, then she muttered, "But it's true."

Red faced and looking down, Raivis nervously spoke, "I-It's not true… T-Thank you, Arthur."

Arthur sighed with a small shake of his head while Priya patted Raivis' shoulder, trying to calm the boy down. Elizabeta embraced the shy boy moments later and bribed him with cheesecakes and brownies before they left and went their separate ways.

"Arthur, what's wrong?" Priya asked later when the both of them were walking home together. "You're not usually this silent."

"It's nothing, love."

"I've known you for so long to know that you're lying." Priya frowned and lightly nudged him with her elbow. "Now, tell me."

Arthur sighed and after a couple of minutes trying to ignore his friend's stare, he gave in. "It's nothing. I'm worrying over nothing because there's nothing, not anymore. He probably thinks I'm an annoying kid and has long forgotten about me."

"Now where did that come from?" Priya wrapped her arm around Arthur's and pressed herself to him in a sisterly manner. "Artie, I have no clue where you got that crazy idea but if he did forget you then he doesn't know what he's missed. You're a great guy, don't think otherwise."

Arthur groaned and shook his head, "You are not helping me."

"It's true!" Priya pouted, "I'm saying it from the bottom of my heart. Arthur, there are more fish in the sea. Bigger and better fish."

"Priya!" Arthur exclaimed and pulled himself away from his friend, quickly walking ahead of her. "Stop! Stop! That is not—Oh, good god."

Priya laughed and quickly caught up with him, "Oh, come on. It's true."

"No, Priya, just… no."

"Wait, are you telling me you… saw his man root?" Priya burst into a fit of giggles, unable to stop herself.

"Bloody hell, shut up!"

xxxxx

Arthur let out a huge sigh of relief after he locked the door behind him. He was finally in the safety and privacy of his own room and Priya, that annoying chit, was out there in the living room having tea with his Grandmother.

"Arthur, come here, lad. I made some of your favourite scones."

Arthur slapped a hand to his face and groaned from embarrassment, "Yes, Grandmother. I'll be out in a moment."

Forgetting about his fears for one minute, he plugged his cell phone to its charger and left the room with his hands sweating. It was hours later, after dinner when he was able to return to his room. He had actually been trying to avoid returning to his room but now, he had no reason to stay out of it else his Mum might think something was wrong with him.

He inhaled deeply and charged towards his cell phone. He unplugged it and with shaking, sweating hands, he turned it on only to toss it on his bed when the start-up tone rang. By that time, he was panting as if he had ran a dozen laps around the school's soccer field.

"Calm down, you idiot!" Arthur hissed at himself but squeaked when the blasted phone rang.

YOU GOT ONE MESSAGE

Arthur gulped and slowly approached his bed, telling himself that he was being an idiot. He cautiously took his phone and gaped at the small screen.

"Bloody hell."

(Inbox) Alfred Jones

198 Messages

Before even a coherent thought could cross his mind, his phone rang and this time, he shrieked, throwing his phone back on the bed.

Alfred Jones

Calling

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews and faves, guys! And that 198 messages in the inbox happened in real life. O.O I'm already excited for the next chapter! 8D Oh, I've also got a new tumblr (seri-kun dot tumblr dot com)!

Guys, leave a review or concrit! 'Till the next chapter!

Shameless promotion—please check out my other Hetalia fics as well: Kiss Me Here, Minty Fresh, Melt, The Big News: Alfred & Arthur, World's End, The Big News: Francis & Matthieu, Nightmare, Choco Choco, Hung for Hungary, Just Another Meeting, Password Error, Creamed Trousers, The Best Man, Ring Tone, Concerned Brother, Happy Camping, Alfred's Hangover, Taste of Love, Possessive, Fetish, Lovino's Favourite Cap, Tokimeki Memorial World Edition, Public Display of Affection, Dragon of the Sea, Coffee & Tea: A Hundred Day Challenge, Cupcake, Broken Bones, Alarm Clock, Cadbury Chocolate, Broken Vows and Cat Food