Do you know the phrase "Never judge a book by its cover"? The meaning of the phrase is quite obvious. It simply tells us to never judge something by appearance. Same goes to humans. One must never judge a human before he or she knows him or her properly. Unfortunately, though many people keep saying that, they do not practise what they preach. Many people get misunderstood because of that.

And one of those people was Alice Kirkland...

Alfred F. Jones, an American teenager with blonde hair, was a new student in Hetalia Academy. He had joined about a week ago. His half-brother, Matthew Williams, was already studying there, though not many people knew he existed. Matthew had helped to enroll Alfred but sadly, after he had helped his dear brother, Alfred soon forgot all about him. However, Matthew, obviously used to such treatment, ignored it. The American teen soon got really popular, with both the boys and the girls.

One day during recess, Alfred, sitting with the Bad Touch Trio, which consisted of Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, Francis Bonnefoy and Gilbert Beilschmidt, spotted a blonde teenage girl with emerald eyes. Her skirt was not as short as many other girls but it was not too long either. She wore a tie, which showed that she was a prefect. Her long hair was tied up in two ponytails and she had rather thick eyebrows.

Alfred's fangirls noticed that the teenager's attention was elsewhere and immediately turned to look before rolling their eyes.

"Who's that?" the American asked as he took a bite on his burger.

Francis glanced at the female prefect before he replied, "That, mon ami, is Alice Kirkland."

Gilbert suddenly burst out laughing, "The awesome me remembers the time you tried flirting with her!"

"Merde! Don't say a word, Gilbert!" Francis groaned, embarrassed. There was a pause before he continued, "Still trying though..."

Alfred, curious, asked, "Wait, what happened?"

"Well, Francis here tried flirting with Alice over there. In the end, she punched him so hard in the face, he lost a few teeth and his nose broke. Oh that was hilarious!" Antonio explained, oblivious to the fact that Francis was glaring daggers at him.

One of the new student's fangirls rolled her eyes and commented, "Don't wait your time with her, Alfie! She's, like, not worth it! After all, she pretty much spends time alone doing her work! She totally thinks she's better than us!" It was either him, or Alfred saw Alice flinching the moment that sentence was said.

"Kesesese! Who cares? All we know is that she has a stick up her ass!" the albino commented, not noticing the blonde prefect flinching once again.

"G-Gil, I think she can hear you..."

"Darn right I can hear you, arse! The bell is nearly going to ring so if you do not want to be late for your next class, I suggest you get moving, you bloody gits!" Alice frowned, her arms crossed. She was British, Alfred noted. What, with her accent, it was really obvious.

"And you, Mister...?"

"Alfred F. Jones! Just call me Alfred!" the blonde grinned, trying to be friendly.

"...Whatever. Just get to class, Jones..." And with that, Alice started to walk off. The fans of Alfred were discussing terrible things about the girl but the blonde teen did not really notice. All he wondered was why she was acting as if the mean comments about her never affected her. He knew it did, seeing her flinch like that. But she still acted like it did not.

"Mon cheri, did I ever tell you how beautiful you look? How I always get lost in your eyes?" Alfred heard the French student speak, thus making him stop in his tracks to turn and look.

Alice groaned and rubbed her temples before replying, "Indeed, you have, Bonnefoy. And need I mention that you have said it to nearly half of the entire female students, you git?"

"But mon cheri-"

"Don't- Just... No tricks, Bonnefoy. Leave me alone..." the British girl muttered, glaring at the ground. She walked off to the corridors where many students were, not noticing that Alfred was still staring at her.

"I'm not beautiful..." was the only thing she muttered to herself as she walked off.

Alfred did not see the girl until the last lesson for the day. She was sitting alone by the window. Literally alone. The tables in front, behind, and beside her were empty. Everyone was spreading rumours about her and from the way the girl refused to look at anyone, Alfred could tell she could hear them.

"Alfie!" a high-pitched squeal came from a group of girls gathered together. It continued, "Alfie! Come sit with us!" But the teen did something that shocked many students and even angered some, he went to seat at the table right beside Alice. She blinked at him with widened eyes, shocked.

"Alfred-san! Are you insane?" Kiku Honda, a Japanese student, who was now sitting beside Alfred, asked. He continued, "I heard from Francis-san that she might rip your head off if you came too close!"

"Kiku, that's just stupid! He's probably just mad that Alice rejected him or something! She ain't not gonna kill you or anything!" the American laughed.

"...She is not going to..."

"Huh?"

"'Ain't not' is double negative," the British girl corrected, finally speaking. Alfred punched the air, glad, for some unknown reason, that the girl was talking to him. Alice frowned, "Dumb bloody git."

"I'm not a git! I'm the hero!" Alfred exclaimed, eyes literally gleaming. Many girls were now staring at him admiringly.

"...Change your seat. Now."

"Huh?"

"Change. Your. Seat."

"Why?" Alfred could not believe his ears. He most certainly was not expecting that. Many girls were now both happy and angry. Angry because Alice had the guts to tell Alfred F. Jones to change seats. Happy because there was now a chance Alfred may sit with them.

"Do you want everyone to think you're mad, you arse?" Alice whispered harshly.

"But... But you're a damsel in distress and as a hero, I have to save you!" the American exclaimed loudly, making Alice groan.

"I'm no damsel in distress so sod off!"

"If you're not in distress, why are you always alone?"

"It's none of your business!"

"What? Can't I try and be your friend?"

And that point, the entire class fell silent. Alfred F. Jones, the new student who was surprisingly popular, wanted to be friends with Alice Kirkland, the prefect whom everyone hated? Alice glared at the floor before she started to laugh.

"You... You don't make me laugh! You, Mister Popular whom everyone loves, wants to be friends with me? Don't joke around, Jones!" There was slight sorrow in her voice, Alfred could tell.

The teenager frowned and stared at the prefect seriously, answering in a straight face, "Yes."

And then, if possible, the room turned even more silent. No one really dared to breathe. Every student stared at Alfred, including Alice.

The noise only started again once the teacher entered to class, commenting on how quiet the class was. Everyone listened to the teacher's lecture and most of their attention was focused on it. That was why no one noticed the single tear that forced its way down Alice's cheek.

"...I don't deserve a friend..."

A/N: This was harder than I thought… OTL