aforethought:
this is unedited. It has crossed my mind that I should get a beta so they can proofread my stuff, but I would probably drive them insane with my erratic writing schedule. ; w ;

How to Fall in Love
(in approximately 23 days)

Day 1

Alfred F. Jones is not having a good day. First, he woke up to a text message proclaiming that his fourth girlfriend of the month was breaking up with him. (Apparently she thought he wasn't spending enough time with her - what? It wasn't his fault he got invited to a TDM at Dome with his friends and subsequently missed their date!) Then, his coffeemaker had broken, thus sentencing the rest of his day to being hell.

By the time he threw on a white t-shirt, some jeans, and his hoodie, the bus was already rumbling away from the curb. He had to drive to school. (He hated driving. He absolutely despised it.)

He's currently fifteen minutes late to his first period class. His teacher, who is a stubbly, grumpy old man, croaks at him angrily for about five minutes before condemning him to the back of the class.

His new seat partner is the resident bore of the class, Matthew Williams.

Alfred keeps a continuous glare ahead for the rest of the period.

. . .

Day 2

"Hi," Matthew Williams says.

Still sour from the previous day, Alfred chooses to scowl and ignore him.

. . .

Day 3

"Sulking and pouting petulantly isn't going to help your situation any better, you know," Williams says. When Alfred slowly turns his head to narrow his eyes at him, the smaller boy shrinks a little in his seat.

"Leave me alone, man." Alfred sighs loudly, earning a reprimand from their teacher. "I'm not in the mood."

He returns his attention to the front, but glanced sideways just to see Williams straighten in his seat, pushing his sliding glasses(cutely?)back up his nose.

"Was just saying," he hears him mutter.

. . .

Day 5

"What are you so sour about?" Williams asks curiously.

Alfred almost slams his pencil down and turns viciously in his seat to snap, "My girlfriend broke up with me, that's why I'm so sour. Can you stop bugging me now?"

Matthew frowns. "I can see why she did," he mutters. He realizes that Alfred heard him when he turns his head and sees the death glare. "I mean, you're loud, you're egotistic, and you resort to childish tactics when you don't get your way."

It's…actually quite close. Alfred finds his own expression softening and then he's staring, almost wonderingly, at the boy before him.

Williams slumps in his seat, looking sheepish. "Sorry."

. . .

Day 7

He finds himself with Williams during lunch. As in, not sitting with his friends for once and joining the rather introverted blond in a nearly deserted seat in the corner of the cafeteria. "Dude," he says unabashedly as he sets his tray down, "don't you ever get lonely?"

Williams shrugs indifferently.

. . .

Day 9

"Are you absolutely sure," Williams makes sure to emphasize this word, "you would rather sit here with me instead?"

Alfred casts a look over to where he usually sits, which is crowded with friends and some other students alike. It doesn't seem like anyone's missing him.

Williams's words have been weighing heavily on his mind for a while now. At the same time, the honesty is like a breath of fresh air. He hasn't found anyone who's been this blunt with him before.

"I kind of like sitting with you," he says honestly, and pretends not to see the way Williams's face lights up with a genuine smile.

He shouldn't feel this way towards another guy, much less Matthew Williams.

. . .

Day 10

He wakes up with his heart beating so hard it hurts, sweaty palms, and a certain someone's name on the tip of his tongue.

He really shouldn't be feeling like this towards Matthew Williams.

. . .

Day 11

He learns some things. Matthew has an older brother, Francis. He wants to live in Canada someday. His favorite color is dark red. He likes to play hockey. He prefers strawberry jam over blueberry jam and likes his bread toasted rather than just straight from the loaf. He has a bad habit of leaving his door open and thus practically granting Francis permission to snoop through. He listens to Marianas Trench and sometimes sings along with Adele when he's alone.

Alfred learns that Matthew is anything but boring.

He also learns that his name rolls deliciously smooth off his lips.

. . .

Day 12

Alfred wonders why he hasn't noticed how feminine Matthew kind of looks like. His eyelashes are a little too long, cheekbones angled a little too high, lips a little too soft-looking(and tempting and-).

"Is there something on my face, eh?" Matthew asks, covering his face partially with his fingers.

God, when has his accent gotten so cute?

Alfred sits on his fingers to make sure he doesn't reach up, gently pull Matthew's fingers away from his face, and tell him, "You look fine."

. . .

Day 15

"Dude, how come you never sit with us anymore?"

"Yeah, I saw you with that Williams kid. Are you replacing us, man?"

It's said jokingly, of course, but Alfred clenches his fists. "Working on a project," he lies smoothly.

. . .

Day 16

"I think you have the prettiest eyes I've ever seen, and I've dated almost the entire girl population of this school. I also think your hair is really tempting to touch," he says solemnly. "I think I like you."

His reflection stares back at him.

A few seconds later, he sighs. Now, if he could just say that to Matthew's face…

. . .

Day 17

Matthew's room is surprisingly…simple. The walls are light blue and strung with posters of bands and the occasional Canadian flag. There's a bookshelf crammed with books beside the door and the bed is draped with maroon-colored sheets that look soft to the touch.

Alfred doesn't know what he expected, but somehow, it suits Matthew's personality.

"You can sit down, if you want," Matthew offers, hesitant.

Alfred realizes that Matthew still feels a little awkward, but he might actually be falling in-

. . .

Day 19

"I think it's awesome that you don't yell at me if I'm late to your house," he says. "And your pancakes are awesome, too. I think you're awesome in general."

And again, his only audience is the mirror in the boys' bathroom.

…God, why is this so hard?

. . .

Day 21

"I think I really like you."

. . .

Day 22

"I think I want to take you out on a date."

. . .

Day 23

The text comes in late that night: I think I'd like to say yes to that offer.

Alfred replies: Huh?

His phone buzzes a little while later:You're not exactly discreet when you're practicing in front of a mirror, and in the boys' bathroom, in school, no less.

Alfred sends: So that's a yes?

Matthew writes: Didn't we go over this?

Alfred goes to sleep with a wide smile on his face.

a/n:
I had almost the entire next chapter of Songbird typed out in one of my documents on the fanfiction Document Manager, and then, when I pressed save, it told me I had to log in again. So I did. Then when I re-opened the document so I could finish it all up, I realized that it had not. saved. a. single. word.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

anyway

I ended up going to tumblr and filling prompts, which resulted in this. I'm gonna woefully re-write the chapter after exams tomorrow and have it uploaded by the afternoon okayyy? ; A ;