Sorry for the waaaaaaait. Thank you for your comments and continued support!

/

No one ever believes Alfred when he says that he's a morning person.

He thinks it's just unwarranted bias. What, just because he's a teenager he can't be up before noon? Totally prejudiced accusations based upon dumb stereotypes. It's offensive.

Because he is a morning person. Totally one hundred percent. There's nothing better than being up before dawn, getting outside, and watching the sun's rays paint his father's fields with orange and pink-hued gold. The early morning chill, the trill of bird song, echoing through the distant forest and beyond to the towering mountain standing over the town. The smell of dew, clean and like newness, saturating everything. People always tell him, Alfred, dew doesn't have a smell, but it does! It smells damp and also new and like grass and freshly tilled soil and a little bit like everything at once.

Arthur agrees with him, thinks that dew and the morning have a smell. Sometimes Alfred will be awake, looking out his window, or getting an early start on his chores in the barns, and he'll see Arthur making his way through the fields. The wheat or the long grass parting before him, and the dim, rosy light silhouetting his form. It'll be a mystery, whether he's up early like Alfred or if he's just been out all night, but Alfred won't bother asking. It doesn't matter either way, in the end.

Whether Alfred's there or not, Arthur will head for the barns first, to say hello to Freedom and Liberty. If Alfred is there, he gets to see Arthur with his face entirely open and unguarded. Relaxed, happy, and talking in full sentences to the horses as he cards his fingers through their manes. He might have bruises on his face and arms. He'll probably have bags under his eyes. But he'll look happy. He'll ignore Alfred until he's said hello to the horses, but it's something, it's important, that he trusts Alfred enough to let him see him as he's open and engaging with the things he loves. Nature, animals, and a newly dawning day away from the busy town. Away from people.

Alfred loves mornings. He loves the quiet. He loves the smells. He loves the colours of the sky and the field and the way everything in the air feels weighty with something immense and infinite. Something bigger than him and everything in his world. He loves when Arthur comes by in the morning. He loves when they walk through the fields together, the sound of the wind rustling all around them. And he loves climbing up to onto the roof, so they can watch the sun fully rise together. It is, maybe, Alfred's very favourite thing about mornings. Sitting on his roof, Arthur beside him, staring out at the newly dawning, golden world, the sun rising over the town and valley that they both call home.

Arthur isn't here this morning though.

He doesn't turn up as Alfred's feeding Freedom and Liberty. Or when Alfred leads them out to walk them around their pasture. The sun finishes rising above the horizon, and Alfred guesses that Arthur's not coming today.

He's disappointed, pouting through his morning chores, but it's not like Arthur comes every day. He doesn't. He comes when he wants to and he comes when he has time and he comes when he's not starting the day doing whatever it is that he and Niels and Dani get up to in the forest. But he has been coming more often lately. Alfred's kind of gotten used to waking up and starting his days with Arthur beside him.

Aaaaand that kind of had connotations that he didn't mean to imply in the slightest. Not at all! He and Arthur are just best buds and best friends and super close in a way that is friendly and full of friendship and friendness. That's it. That's all…Really.

Even without Arthur, it's a nice morning, and a nice day. The sky is clear, the sun's already bright and blazing, and the weather app on his phone is saying that it's going to be a scorcher. Which isn't that surprising, considering it's July in California.

It's summer at last, it's July, it's hot and beautiful and he's finally sixteen.

He's finally sixteen!

It might be just, you know, popular culture or whatever. But Alfred feels about twenty times older now that he's sixteen. He feels like he's finally crossed the point where people will stop treating him like a total baby, and will start treating him like someone who's actually almost an adult, and also halfway mature and totally capable of responsibility and-

Oh crap.

He forgot again. He forgot to water the plant again.

You'd think it'd be easy to remember to water a plant that's in his room. But nope, he keeps forgetting. It keeps slipping his mind and if he kills the plant Arthur gave him for his birthday that would be the worst, the literal worst thing he could do. Ever. For the entirety of his existence, past and future. Arthur would never forgive him.

He's finished his chores by now, so Alfred takes off his boots and heads back into the house. He can hear his dad in the kitchen, making coffee, or trying to, on their old, less-then functional coffee pot. He pops in his head to say morning, before heading up the stairs, his dad's grunting response behind him.

His dad, unlike Alfred, is not a morning person. Sometimes Alfred teases that the only reason he adopted in the first place was to get out of having to get up early to do all the work necessary to keep a farm running. His dad had snorted and said he'd have adopted two of him if that had been the case.

Alfred had looked at his dad suspiciously for the first few months after Mattie showed up in town, but ultimately decided that it was probably a coincidence. Probably.

Mattie's birthday is apparently a few days before Alfred's. Which he doesn't believe in the slightest. They are clearly twins! Both of them adopted, both of them the same age, and both of them practically identical. He doesn't understand why Mattie's so skeptical. Alfred bets it's because he doesn't want to it to be proven that he's not actually older than Alfred by a few days.

For his birthday, Alfred got Mattie a copy of his favourite comic book series translated into French, which he'd really, really liked. Mattie got Alfred an American flag-patterned blanket for Freedom, and a blanket that had the entire American constitution printed across it for Liberty. Alfred had totally not squealed when he'd seen them. It's just. It was really cool! He knows his patriotism is pretty ironic considering his birthday, but he just honestly really loves what America stands for. Freedom, liberty, democracy, fireworks…

This year, he'd finally convinced his dad to let him skip the family-friendly firework show in front of City Hall, and go to the later, unofficial one run by the seniors from the highschool, with suspiciously procured fireworks. It hadn't been as fun as he'd hoped, more smoking and drinking then he'd liked, and he'd ended up ditching early. So instead of fireworks he'd sat inside and watched Independence Day with Matthew and Kiku. Which was still a pretty great way to spend his birthday. His dad had even let them crack open a beer each, though it tasted a lot worse than any of them expected and none of them had finished. Not that Alfred would ever admit that if asked.

The watering can Arthur got him is sitting just outside his bedroom door, and Alfred grabs it, carrying it into the bathroom to fill it with water. Arthur says it's better to use rain water, to leave cans outside to collect it. But it hasn't rained in awhile, and also, his dad's big against leaving standing water around the house, or the barn. Mosquitoes, Alfred, he says sternly, Those horses are testy enough without throwing bug bites into the equation.

Alfred doesn't think that Freedom and Liberty are testy. They're not your standard horses, it's true, and they're not entirely tame, but they're not dangerous wild stallions either. He guesses his dad's still just a little wary of them, since he didn't buy them, or even catch them. They just sort of wandered on to the property one day and didn't…leave. Alfred had always wanted horses when he was little, especially since they already had a barn that they didn't use for anything, and his dad had told him stories of having a horse when he was a child. But his dad wasn't willing to invest in one, or add caring for one onto his already hefty list of farm duties.

But then Freedom and Liberty had just. Walked in. Milled around the house, poked about the barn, and evaded all efforts to shoo them away. Inquiries around the county revealed no reports of escaped or stolen horses. They really had just appeared out of nowhere.

Alfred thought it was the luckiest thing in the world, and also, fate. Can't ignore fate, Dad! He'd said. Dad hadn't really been convinced.

But the tenacity of both Alfred and the horses had won out in the end, and Dad had gotten some help fixing up the barns and clearing out an area for pasture. The money had been a bit of an issue, but living in a small town had paid off. Mr. Vargas and Mr. Beilshcmidt had both chipped in a little money. Even Rajni had. And Alfred had promised to get a job as soon as he could to help out.

Now that he's sixteen that might actually be a thing he has to do. Crap. A job?...He can totally manage that! In the summer, at least. He only has to look after the horses in the summer. Once school starts it'll be harder, with all his homework and stuff. But Alfred's old now. He's responsible. So he can totally stay on top of-

He's forgotten about the plant again.

It's small, sitting in a pot on the desk by his window. What's it called again? Marge…jam? Marge…Marjoram. That's what it is. For dispelling negativity and stuff. It smells very nice. Like mint or oregano or something in between. It's very pretty and very green and Alfred will feel soooo bad if he accidentally kills it.

None of its leaves seem to be going brown just yet, so he figures he's still safe. He's careful as he pours water into the pot, since drowning plants is also possible, apparently. Jeez. Who knew gardening was so stressful?

With all of his morning responsibilities covered and accounted for, Alfred heads into the shower. His stomach's growling the entire time, and he practically sprints down the stairs once he's finished and dressed. His dad's gone, probably out into the fields, but there are some eggs sitting on a plate for him, and a cup of orange juice.

Alfred's dad is kind of awesome. He's got one of those personalities that make him seem like he's always grumpy, but he's not. Alfred's pretty sure he's got the best dad ever.

Not that he has a lot to compare it to, now that he thinks about it. Francis is Mattie's older brother, and Matthew met Francis's parents once. Kiku's parents are dead. Yong Soo and the rest of their siblings never knew their parents. Arthur's parents are terrible to him. Feliciano and Ludwig are both being raised by their grandfathers…

Okay so…their town might have like, a thing with absent parentage in general. Oh, but Matthias! Matthias lives alone with his dad as well. But his dad's the mayor. Which means he's probably always busy with…political things.

He wonders what Matthias is doing today. Probably bothering Niels. Alfred and Matthias used to hang out a lot, but they haven't as much, in the past year or so. Matthias has been hanging around Niels more often, and Alfred…well, Alfred guesses that he's been spending more time with Arthur as well.

He wonders what Arthur's doing today. He hopes it's not something that's going to leave him with bruises and scratches all over. He hopes it's something fun and happy. Or, at the very least, non-hazardous.

Alfred pops some bread into the toaster, and then discovers that they're out of butter. And also out of milk. Darn it. He likes his morning cocoa.

But it's a nice day. It's a beautiful day, actually. So Alfred decides that, even though he doesn't have any plans to meet anyone today, he'll ride into town on his bike and do some groceries and maybe see if there's anyone around who wants to hang out or something. It's too nice of a day to stay inside any longer, anyways.

As soon as he finishes his breakfast and cleans up, he heads out. His bike's against the side of the house, and he wheels it down the dusty, long lane that leads from their house to the road. He doesn't leave a note for his dad or anything, he's fine with not knowing exactly where his son is at every moment. Alfred won't bother him as he's working.

It's still morning, but the sun's already blazing. The air blowing past him as he rides is dry, and dusty. Alfred wishes he brought a water bottle or something with him, though he reasons that he can just pick one up from the grocery store once he gets there.

It doesn't take long to ride into town, but there's dust in his mouth and he's sweating buckets, so he slows down to take a short break, stopping at a tiny convenience store by the side of the road. The one that closes down every two months and then miraculously reopens a week later.

The store has a flimsy awning, riddled with holes, and Alfred wheels his bike underneath it. There's a little wood block off to the side that's good to sit on, but it's already occupied. Emil and Xiang are sharing it, tucked in the shade.

It's not unusual to see Xiang out this early. All of Kiku's family are early risers, and Alfred's sure that Mei and Lei are probably somewhere nearby as well. The triplets have very different personalities, but they also tend to travel around as a unit. Maybe the two of them are inside?

Alfred's not sure about Emil. Arthur says that Niels isn't a morning person, at all, but who knows if Emil's the same? Sometimes Alfred sees him this early, and sometimes he sees him late at night. It just depends on the day. When it comes down to it, he doesn't know Emil very well at all.

"Hey!" Alfred calls out in greeting as he leans his bike against the wall of the shop. Both Xiang and Emil look towards him. They've both got their standard blank expressions, but Xiang waves one hand in a passive, wordless greeting.

"Hey Alfred," Emil says after a few moments of awkward silence, "Um, morning?"

"Congrats," Xiang drawls, hand still raised, "On completing another year on this planet. Well done." He then begins to clap, still blank-faced, and beside him Emil presses his palm to his face in embarrassment.

Alfred doesn't know Emil and Xiang very well, but he's still amused by their friendship. Relationship? He's not sure. They're a lot younger than him, so he's never paid them much attention, but he does have vague memories of them always being together. He distinctly remembers them holding hands a lot when they were little, though he can't recall them doing it anytime recently. Dating, or no? They're clearly close, but he honestly has no clue as to the nature of that closeness. It's funny either way, though. At first glance, they have really similar personalities. Quiet, stoic, prone to staring at you blankly. But Xiang's actually a lot more outgoing then Emil is, and is prone to indulging in the kind of silliness and nonsense that Emil won't stand to suffer from anyone else.

Alfred thinks they're adorable. It'd be cute if they were dating.

"Haha, thanks Xiang," Alfred laughs, "Didn't you just have a birthday too? Congrats to you as well!"

A slow smile spreads across Xiang's face, and he shrugs wordlessly. Emil sighs.

"He set off fireworks inside the house, and lit the tablecloths on fire," he says flatly, "We ate the cake outside to get away from the smoke inhalation."

"It was hilarious," Xiang adds, seeming more smug than chastised, and Emil gives him an unimpressed look. Xiang responds by fluttering his eyelashes in fake bashfulness, which makes Emil blush, and look away immediately.

It's always fun to watch their interaction, but something awkward twists in Alfred's stomach all the same. Xiang's birthday party would have been at his house, up on the mountain. The house Alfred's never been allowed to visit. He's pals with Yong Soo, best friends with Kiku, and has even tutored Mei. But he's never been allowed to hang out at their house. Not once.

They all get weird when he asks. Kiku gets evasive and Mei gets flustered and Yong Soo gets nervous. He knows that people aren't allowed up at Yao's house. He knows they're very private and live up on the mountain for a reason. But he also knows that friends are allowed to go. Arthur goes up there, and so does Emil, and even Niels and Danut have been to Yao's house, and they're not even really friends with any of them.

It just. He doesn't get it, is all. Alfred can't help but wonder what it is, exactly, that he's doing wrong. That makes Kiku and Yong Soo think they can't trust him to go up to their house. Is it because he's loud? He knows he's loud. Okay, yeah, he can be a bit clumsy. Is their house full of priceless heirlooms or something? Maybe that's it…

He says goodbye to Emil and Xiang and continues on his ride through town. It's getting hotter, and he's still thirsty.

The grocery store's not that far up the road, Alfred! He tells himself. But he hasn't had his cocoa this morning, and as he nears the Edelstein's cakeshop, the smell of chocolate and sugar is too enticing to resist.

He leans his bike against the side of the building and walks in. It's fairly busy. The bakery may be, well, a bakery, but its primary function in the town is that of a coffee shop. A lot of people still brew at home, like Alfred's dad, but there are a lot of people who prefer to come here instead.

Elizabeta's at the counter, her hair pinned up in a bun and her face a mask of ineffectually concealed exasperation. The older man who's trying to order apparently doesn't know the difference between a latte and a cappuccino, and is unsatisfied with Elizabeta's attempts to explain.

Gilbert's in the corner, chatting animatedly to Francis, who is idly tapping his fingers against the table while looking amusedly listening to Gilbert's wildly flailing hands and loud exclamations. He looks up as Alfred enters the shop, and waves him over with an easy movement of his hand.

"Good morning, Alfred. Matthew's at home," Francis says, sounding apologetic, "Not the early riser you are, I'm afraid."

"Uh, last I checked, neither are you," Alfred replies, one eyebrow raised as he sits down at the table. "What are you doing up this early? Don't you need sleep to hide your wrinkles or something?"

Francis's expression twitches. Gilbert snorts, and then starts coughing, still laughing.

"Ah, no, darling Alfred, I do not have wrinkles," Francis says, smile a little strained, "I believe you're referring to the comment that sleep keeps my skin clear. Wrinkles not involved."

"Oh, I don't know, Fran," Gilbert says after clearing his throat, "I think I see some lines forming around your eyes. Crow feet, you know?"

Francis shoots him a dark look, devoid of amusement, and Gilbert begins cackling again.

At that point, Elizabeta is apparently freed from the clueless customer questioning her, as she breezes towards the table with a thundercloud expression.

"Good morning, Alfred," she says, her amicable, hostess voice not matching her expression at all, "Do you plan on ordering anything, or are you just here to take up space and loiter like these bastards?"

Francis makes a wounded sound, clutching his chest, and Gilbert sticks his tongue out. Alfred just smiles sheepishly. Elizabeta's like…way intimidating.

"An, um, just like a cup of water? If that's okay?" he asks, timidly.

"You can't charge him for that," Gilbert points out, and then cackles again and ducks his head as Elizabeta shoots him a deadly look.

"I'm aware, thanks," she snaps, before turning back to Alfred with a friendly, plastic smile, "Will that be all then, Alfred?"

"Um, yeah. Thanks, Elizabeta."

"It's Li today," she- he, corrects, "And as for you two-, If you don't order something in the next five moments, I'm throwing you out, literally."

Gilbert grins a little crookedly, and blows Li a kiss, while Francis just waggles his eyebrows.

"I, for one, would not object to being manhandled by-, Ow." Francis rubs his head ruefully as Li whirls around and storms off, clutching the menu he just used to smack Francis to his chest.

"I don't know whether to be impressed that you're actually dating him, or concerned for your safety," Francis comments idly to Gilbert, who's staring after Li admiringly.

Alfred's gaze has drifted over to the counter, where Roderich's brought out a new cake to put into the display. It's vanilla and has icing on it and Alfred's not really supposed to have sugar this early in the morning but man he wishes he'd asked Li for a slice of something like that. At the same time, Alfred's pretty sure Li's in a sour enough mood that he'd rather slice off one of Francis's fingers than slice a cake, so maybe it's a good thing he didn't ask.

"Don't worry Fran, you'll find someone one of these days," Gilbert teases. "Hey, only a year til Arthur's legal! Maybe that'll work out after all."

Alfred's head snaps back towards them so quickly he hears it crack. His knee jerks against the table and shakes it, causing both Gilbert and Francis to turn towards him with matching amused expression.

"Uh," his cheeks are flaming red. "I-I mean, uh, aren't you and Arthur just friends? And you're like…"

Francis is only twenty-one, Alfred is reminded. Which isn't actually that much older than Arthur is. And Arthur is so smart, and not like anyone else his age, and maybe, actually, he'd prefer someone who's a bit older. He hates nonsense so much, he'd probably never want to date someone immature, someone younger.

"Yes, we are just friends, ignore this imbecile," says Francis quickly, shooting Gilbert a glare. "There's never been anything between Arthur and myself, as dear as I find him. Any flirting and cavorting is strictly platonic."

"I'm not sure it's possible for flirting and cavorting to be platonic," Gilbert muses, and then winces and swears as Francis kicks him.

Thankfully, Li chooses that moment to return with Alfred's glass of water, and sets it down in front of him along with a single sprinkled donut on a napkin.

"That's on the house," Li says, giving Alfred a little smile. "You deserve to be rewarded for putting up with those two."

Alfred tries his best to return the smile, but find he can't quite manage it. Li frowns, and glares at Gilbert and Francis. The latter actually looks a little sheepish, the former looks as guileless as a person can.

Once Li leaves, Francis turns back towards Alfred, still apologetic.

"Really, Alfred, you must ignore this one," he says, pointing a thumb towards Gilbert. "And believe me when I say Arthur has no interest in me whatsoever. I don't think his mind is on dating at all, he's always preoccupied with other things. But-," Francis raises a hand, noticing Alfred's expression falling further, "But that's not to say that couldn't change in the future. And if that were to happen, it certainly wouldn't be me he'd turn to. So don't look so down, mm cher? You're young you know, there's plenty of time for love to bloom in your future. Just be a little patient."

"Yeah, and Arthur's like, English too," Gilbert chimes in, leaning on the table, "They take forever to do anything, especially when that anything involves acknowledging having emotions. You'll wear him down eventually."

"You think?" Alfred asks brightly. Then he frowns a little, wondering when they transitioned to vaguely implying that they might know he has a crush on Arthur, to straight up giving him advice on how to deal with his crush on Arthur.

Suddenly painfully embarrassed, Alfred buries his face in his glass of water and turns away as both Gilbert and Francis offer him words of encouragement. Seriously, does everyone know about his crush on Arthur?

"Gilbert, your datemate is glaring at us from over the counter again," Francis says, clucking his tongue, "I think he might actually make good on his threat to toss us out. What's got him so badtempered?"

"Oh, the usual, trouble sleeping," Gilbert says airily, "You know, the two of us have recurring insomnia. It's not a big deal or anything. He'll be fine tomorrow. Probably."

Francis gives Gilbert a look that seems a little heavier than a normal look, and Gilbert responds with a look that is also heavier than a normal look, and Alfred eats his donut and wishes he didn't feel so out of the loop all the time.

"Roderich's playing is not doing the trick?" Francis asks, eyebrow raised.

"Everyone-, ah, the dreams are a bit more…agitated than normal," Gilbert says, rubbing the back of his head and looking to the side. "It'll probably settle down…it's just, you know, the forest is extra spooky right now."

Both of them look towards Alfred nervously. Alfred is looking wistfully towards the counter, where Li is cutting a piece of that vanilla cake for a customer.

"Well, Antonio better get here soon," Francis sighs, turning back to Gilbert. "He was supposed to meet us here almost 30 minutes ago. That man, he has no sense of punctuality."

"He and Lovino probably got stuck," Gilbert snickers. Francis narrows his eyes at him, and slowly steeples his hands together.
"Gilbert Beilschmidt," he says slowly, "If you just made a bestiality joke-,"

Then he freezes, and looks sharply towards Alfred, who, to his credit, has stopped paying attention to the conversation all together, and is picking sprinkles off his napkin. He's finished the donut, and his glass of water, and is already starting to push his chair away from the table.

"Right, thanks for the pep talk guys," Alfred says, getting up and dusting crumbs off his clothes, "I'm actually on my way to the grocery store-, but hey, say hello to Mattie for me!"

Francis blinks, and then smiles indulgently, nodding once. Gilbert raises one hand in a casual goodbye, waving it limply.

Francis and Gilbert, Alfred muses, are generally really nice, for two college-age guys who aren't in school and just sort of hang around all day. Gilbert's got a bit of a rough reputation, and he does get into trouble sometimes, but he's funny and helpful and never makes fun of Alfred in a mean way. And Francis is great. Alfred thinks Francis is awesome! He's super cool and super chill and it's probably a good thing that Mattie is so mild-mannered and Angelique is so sweet because any other teens under his care would probably be running wild. Yeah, Gilbert and Francis are both pretty awesome.

It's just, they both have a habit of talking about things- or talking around things that Alfred doesn't know about. Which is fine, because like, they are 'adults' and stuff and Alfred's still in high school, so it makes sense that there'd be stuff they don't want to talk about in front of him.

But…well, when they do that, Alfred gets the same kind of feeling he gets around Arthur, sometimes. And that he gets around Mattie, sometimes. And Kiku. And Yong Soo and Mei. Their entire family, actually, including Yao. And Rajni. And Niels and Dani, of course.

One of these days, Alfred thinks as he climbs back onto his bike, I'm going to figure out what everyone knows that I don't.

Alfred rides down the road a little further. The sun's still hot, and he can already feel himself sweating again. He lets his feet still as the road slopes down hill, coasting and letting the breeze push his hair back.

He cruises past the little clothing store that Feliks owns, and then backpeddles quickly, seeing a familiar figure through the window.

Feliks doesn't have a bicycle rack, or a railing, so Alfred just leans his bike against the building as he hurries inside, pushing his hair back away from his face.

"Antonio!" he calls out to the figure still standing by the window.

It is Antonio. The Spanish man is standing in front of the window, a pile of various clothing in his arms. He looks a little flustered, but happy. As he turns towards Alfred, a brilliant smile spreads across his face.

"Morning Alfred!" he says cheerfully, "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing fine," Alfred huffs, hands on his hips, "But Francis and Gilbert are totally waiting for you in the cakeshop! Dude, you're shopping?"

Antonio blinks, expression going blank for a second. Then he slaps one hand against his forehead, dropping several articles of clothing as he does.

"Dios, I forgot," he admits sheepishly, "Ah, no. I'm here with Lovino. He woke up this morning and decided his summer clothing was…mm…olddated. Out of time? Old. Ah, well, he wanted to buy new things, so here we are! Lovi's in the change room right now. Alfred," Antonio tilts his head, blinking his big green eyes at him, "Were Fran and Gil very upset? Would they be okay to wait longer a little, do you think?"

Antonio, Lovino Vargas's not so secret boyfriend, has been in the town for a handful of years now. Like, three-ish. His English has gotten a lot better. His people skills have also improved. Somedays, he actually seems to act his age, which is apparently twenty-something, and not like a massive overgrown puppy infatuated with irate Italians.

However, he's still sort of clueless.

"Antonio," Alfred says sternly, "Half an hour, is a really long time to make people wait. Seriously, dude."

Antonio's face falls, and Alfred tries very hard not to feel bad.

He fails. Damn those green eyes.

It's at that moment that Lovino emerges from the change room, wearing a purple ensemble with price tags hanging off of it. He's got an expensive-looking pair of glasses on the top of his head, and is frowning as usual.

"Toni, is this too much purple? This shade barely works with my skintone as is, and if I overdo it, I'll end up looking like a damned plum." Lovino says bad-temperedly, pulling at the shirt with a scowl.

Antonio's attention snaps away from Alfred immediately, and his crestfallen expression brightens as he beams at his boyfriend.

"No Lovi, it looks fantastic on you!" he says enthusiastically, apparently forgetting Alfred exists.

"You always say that," Lovino grumbles, though his cheeks look a little red and his mouth is twitching like he's pleased and trying not to show it. That drops away, however, when he looks up and sees Alfred. He frowns again.

"Hi Lovino," Alfred says, a little cautiously. He's very good at riling Lovino up without meaning to. And Lovino is fun to rile up, but also, exhausting to rile up. Riling up Lovino is a commitment; he usually takes a good ten minutes to work through a tantrum, and frankly, Alfred doesn't have the time.

"Jones," Lovino says, sounding sour, "You don't usually shop here?"

Felik's store is, somehow, the closest thing the town has to high-end retailing. He makes most of the clothing himself, so it's generally unique and high-quality, and anything that he imports is namebrand. And not like, SEARS namebrand. Like, Gucci and stuff.

Alfred scowls at Lovino. He wants to be offended but, okay, it's true. He shops at the one Wal-Mart in town. Which might not be affiliated with the actual corporation and is probably just a cheap store that bought a Wal-Mart sign off ebay and stuck it on the front. Not that anyone here can really tell the difference.

"Not usually," Alfred admits, "But I saw Antonio in here, and I just came from the cakeshop and he's late for meeting Francis and Gilbert so I came in here to remind him in case he forgot, which he has, so-,"

"Ahhh lo siento, Lovi," Antonio whines, one hand on his forehead again, "I was supposed to meet them half an hour ago."

Lovino's face goes a little red, and he makes a 'tch' sound, turning his head sharply to the side.

"Well if you already promised them there's no helping it, is there?" he grumbles, "Whatever, one more outfit, then you can go."

Antonio's face lights up again. "Thanks, Lovi! Which one do you want to try? I like the green one, it will make your eyes come out really nicely. And this belt, with the gold."

Lovino turns towards Antonio with interest, a flush of colour still high on his cheeks. Antonio's attention is on him entirely.

The two of them have never officially 'come out', but they're clearly together. Not even like, dating. They're just together. You just have to look at them to see how absolutely in love with Lovino Antonio is. And the fact that Antonio hasn't been found dead in a ravine somewhere is probably as indicative as anything to how Lovino feels. He's never been affectionate with Antonio in public, but they go almost everywhere together, and for someone like Lovino, who seems to, as a general rule, hate spending prolonged time in the presence of anyone, that can only mean true love.

It makes Alfred's stomach flutter. He's a little jealous, of the lovestruck looks Lovino gets. Of how the two of them always seem to be close by, or near to each other. Of the fact that, whatever else, there's no way Antonio keeps any secrets from Lovino.

Sigh.

Alfred drifts away from them. He's not going to stand there and nag Antonio. Antonio's like ten years older than him! Or something. Older than Francis and Gilbert at least.

He's about to exit the store when he sees Toris coming out of a backroom with a box in his hand. When man sees him, a smile spreads across his face, and Alfred returns it easily.

Toris and Feliks moved to town a few years ago as well. Toris is really friendly, though Feliks vacillates between being really shy and really contemptuous and dismissive. Initially, before Feliks had his store set up and established, Toris helped out on Alfred's farm for money. He's quite a bit older than Alfred, older than Francis for sure, but they'd formed a kind of friendship despite that.

"Alfred! Happy birthday!" he calls out, walking towards him.

"Thanks, man!" Alfred grins as Toris claps him on the back with one hand.

"Sixteen, is it? I meant to get you something, but I wasn't sure what. Feliks said I should just get you a stack of McDonald's coupons, but I thought I could think of something better than that."

"Aw, dude, you don't have to." Alfred is intensely interested in the idea of a stack of Mcdonald's coupons, but is absolutely not going to let Toris know that. "All I want for my birthday is for people to start taking me seriously, you know?"

Toris gives him a sympathetic look. "I do. He doesn't look it, but Feliks is quite a bit older than me. I understand how difficult a gap in experience can be."

Alfred nods, appreciating the sentiment. Then he realizes, with some alarm, that Toris has also implied that he knows of Alfred's crush on Arthur.

"Toris, bro," he says, a little desperately, "When did I mention being interested in someone older than me?"

Toris's face blanches, and then his cheeks flush red. "Oh, well, ah, s-sorry Alfred. But um, you do right? With, um…"

He trails off, and Alfred sighs, just barely resisting the urge to drop his head into his hands.

"I get it," he's entirely resigned, at this point, "Everyone knows I'm totally head over heels for Arthur. Probably like, the entire town."

"Oh no, not the entire town," Toris says quickly. Then he smiles, a little pityingly, "But a fair number, perhaps."

Alfred looks down at his shoes, dourly. He's started to suspect as much. He's thought he's been pretty subtle, but maybe like, defending Arthur constantly, and following him around, and staring at him from a distance, and constantly bringing him up in conversations with others, was not the most subtle way to go about things.

"Don't look so down!" says Toris hurriedly, "It just means that there are a lot of people ready and willing to offer advice, if you need it?" Even he doesn't sound convinced.

"Ugh," Alfred can't reply with anything more articulate than that.

It's at this moment that Antonio and Lovino emerge from the area by the changing rooms, Antonio with a slightly diminished pile of clothes in his arms, and Lovino with wallet in hand.

"Ah, I better ring them out," Toris says, sounding apologetic, "Shall we chat afterwards?"

"Nah," Alfred says with a shrug, "I've gotta get to the grocery store, I keep getting sidetracked by- I don't know, -everyone. Everyone seems to be outside today. And it's not even noon!"

Toris gives him a wry smile. He claps Alfred one last time on the shoulder, before hurrying over to the checkout counter.

At this point, Alfred decides it's better for his overall sanity if he just heads straight for the grocery store, and avoids running into any other people at all costs.

He cycles onwards, past the old gas station is owned by Mr. Adnan, who bought it with the promise of turning into…something. He was never clear on what, exactly. But he's yet to get around to it, busy with his auto-shop and small carpentry business. So the lot reminds empty, and dusty, with the tiny cornerstore at the edge of it staffed only by Mr. Adnan's nephew. A quiet boy who's apparently from Cyprus, a place Alfred is fairly certain doesn't actually exist.

He cycles by the small veterinary clinic owned by Heracles's family. It's only just opening, and Alfred waves to Joey, the Australian dude who works there and is currently unlocking the front door, as he passes by. He doesn't see Oliver, Joey's cousin from New Zealand, or Winona, his other cousin from Wy, though they all technically work at the Veterinary clinic as well. Possibly, they're all actually doing what kids are supposed to do in summer, and sleeping in.

He slows his bike down as he sees a police cruiser coming down the opposite side of the road. The lights aren't on, but Alfred pulls to the side a little anyways. He can't see who's driving- whether it's Mr. Zwingli or Mr. Beilschmidt or someone else -, but he waves anyways.

Finally, Alfred pulls up to the grocery store. What's he getting again? Milk, butter, the carton of orange juice is probably almost finished. Not too much stuff, his bike doesn't have a basket.

The store's not busy, but it's not empty either, and Alfred finds himself with a handful of 'g'morning Alfred!' and 'hey there kiddo' from well-meaning folk he's known his entire life. He smiles and nods and waves to each and every one of them, praying none of them bring up his not-so-secret crush.

Toris probably, Alfred reasons, was exaggerating. There's like, no way that the majority of the town knows about his crush on Arthur. Because, well, Arthur's a pretty smart guy. And really good at noticing stuff, so, if more than half the town knew, then…it was pretty likely that…Arthur also…

Rounding the corner, still deep in thought, Alfred walks just about face first into a wall of immovable dense-

Ivan.

He walks smack into Ivan.

"Ah, Alfred," Ivan says, blinking down at him, in an expression that could be either happily surprised or homicidal, "How good to see you!"

Ivan and his sisters are more recent imports, having moved to town the same year as Francis and Mattie. Unlike Francis, Mattie, and Angel, however, Alfred does not get along with Ivan. It has nothing to do with the fact that Ivan is the only one in their grade taller than him, and thus the only one who can loom over him menacingly. It is mostly to do with the fact that Ivan is unbearably, irredeemably, creepy. And not in a kind-of-funny-when-not-terrifying way like Dani is, and not in a chilly-but-ignorable way like Niels is, but in an absolutely in your face way. His sisters are okay…ish. Katyusha's really nice, and makes the best icecream, like, ever. But Natalya's kinda…like Ivan but scarier. More teeth baring and sharp item wielding. Also, less patience.

"Ivan," Alfred replies sourly. "Kinda early for you to be out, isn't it? The daytime? Not the deep dank darkness of the night?"

"Aha, if I roamed the streets at night, Katya, I think, would be displeased," Ivan says pleasantly, "Are you, perhaps, confusing me with someone else? I think your friend with the eyebrows and the small herd of woodland creatures is more prone to such habits."

Why does everyone keep bringing up Arthur around him? It's like he's got a sign taped to his forehead or something. He just wants to buy groceries in peace okay? He spends enough hours out of the day thinking about his crush on Arthur without everyone and their mother immediately steering conversations towards that topic.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," Alfred says sullenly, "And even if I did- he is not prone to such habits. He doesn't roam the streets at night. He's usually like, in the forest or something, and I don't even know what you're talking about with that last bit." Though he sort of does. Arthur is really good with animals, and Alfred would not be surprised if he was followed around by a cloud of birds and squirrels whenever he went walking through the woods. Didn't Dani once say he has Arthur's number saved in his phone under 'Actual Disney Princess'?

Ivan shrugs in an easy, 'if you say so!' gesture, which Alfred reads as being more than a little patronizing, which makes him frown harder.

"Whatever, goodbye Ivan," Alfred growls, trying to push past the other boy. However, Ivan continues to be an immovable Russian wall, and Alfred barely holds back a muted shriek of frustration.

"Alfred," Ivan's face is still lit up and pleasant, but something firmer has entered his tone, "Watch out for your friend, yes? His forest, these days, is not so kind as it once was."

Then he moves, no longer blocking Alfred's way. His smile bright as ever.

That, Alfred thinks, as he hurries away, was even weirder than usual.

Just what was that supposed to mean? The forest isn't kind? Alfred's pretty sure a forest is just a forest, and the one near the town might be very big and very deep and very lacking in any kind of formal hiking pathways, but it's just…a forest. He doesn't go into it much, or at all, because it's…

Alfred can't really explain the feeling he gets when he walks into that forest, the forest that Arthur and Kiku and all the rest go into all the time. But it's a feeling that makes him not want to stay for any length of time. A feeling that isn't…it's not fear, but it's not-

Alfred shivers.

The forest is not kind, watch out for your friend. What the hell, Ivan.

And then, hadn't Gilbert said something like that? The forest being weird or spookier than normal? It's summer, the days are longer, and brighter, and everything is bright and green. Shouldn't it be the opposite?

Alfred doesn't understand anything.

But then again, that's nothing new, is it?

By the time he's grabbed the milk, and juice, and butter, and a bag of cookies, and a bag of cake mix, Alfred's worked himself into a super, super bad mood. He can't stand it, all of a sudden. Being out of the loop. Not knowing what everyone else seems to. He doesn't like it when people talk around him, and he hates, hates that Ivan of all people seems to know about it as well.

And to make matters worse, he gets to the cashier and realizes he's forgotten his wallet.

When Alfred leaves the grocery store he is in a sincerely awful mood. He is in such a bad mood. He started the day feeling sunshiney and summery and sixteeny and now he just feels…bad. He feels so bad that when he tries to kick up his bike's kickstand he misses and smacks his toe on the concrete. He's so mad about everything that he doesn't even swear about it, just glares.

"Al?"

Alfred drags his eyes up from the ground.

Mattie, his best bud in the entire world, who also happens to have basically the exact same face as him, is standing by, hands on his own bike. He blinks his big eyes in concern, and wheels closer.

"Francis texted me," Mattie says, "To ask me to bring him some sunscreen. He's suddenly worried about his skin for some reason-And he mentioned you were around. I thought we could go biking?"

Immediately, Alfred feels some of his terrible mood decompressing. Now instead of biking back home miserably and empty-handed, he and Matt can bike around town and Alfred can bemoan his existence and how terrible everything is always.

"Al, is something wrong?" Mattie asks, "You look upset."

"Mattie," Alfred pouts, "What does everyone know that I don't?"

He'd meant it as just a sort of- just a rhetorical, 'ugh im so sick of everything' question that was an expression of his frustration more than an actual question. But Matthew- Matthew goes completely white. All the colour drains from his face, and he visibly flinches back.

Oh, yeah, that's right. Alfred had nearly forgotten. Mattie is in on it too.

"Right." Alfred says, shoulders hunching, "Right, that's what I thought."

Panic flashes across Matthew's face. "Alfred-,"

"No, I get it," He sounds mad, he knows he sounds mad, he doesn't want to sound mad at his best friend but he is mad. "I get it. Everyone- you and Arthur and Kiku and Yong Soo and Gilbert and, and you and your secrets, and your always hiding things, and your, your, your stupid creepy forest!"

Matthew flinches again, face scrunched up. They've been friends long enough that Alfred can clearly see when he's made Mattie upset and uncomfortable, and normally he'd feel bad about it, really bad, but right now Alfred is also feeling very upset and he's uncomfortable every time people talk about the thing that they all know that he doesn't. He hates it.

"Alfred, please," Matthew's hands are bunched into his shirt, knuckles white. "Please we, we're not-," He can't deny it, and he knows it, so he just stands there, looking as miserable as Alfred feels. Alfred doesn't offer him anything, just folds his arms across his chest stubbornly, closed-off.

Something in Matthew's expression shifts a little, an attempt at his own breed of stubbornness. His hands fall away from his shirt, clenching into fists at his side.

"We're- e-everyone has secrets A-Alfred," he says, trying for stern, "N-no one's trying to exclude you. It's- everyone h-has stuff they don't want to talk about. That's, that's just how people are!"

Alfred should leave it. He should stop pushing. He's upsetting Matt and he's being an ass and his Dad's always telling him to respect the decisions other people make and not try and push and challenge all the time and if what everyone wants is to keep him out of the loop totally forever then-

But that's what Alfred's been doing. He's been letting everyone have their secrets and exclude him and has been pretending it doesn't hurt his pride and his feelings. But it does. And he's tired of it. And he's going to tell Mattie that, because Alfred might be hurting his feelings now, but he and Kiku and Arthur have been hurting Alfred's feelings for years.

Matthew seems to sense the direction Alfred's thoughts are heading, because his posture gets even more defensive, shoulders hunching higher and chin tucking downwards. Slowly, Alfred uncrosses his arms, sucking in a breath.

"Hey! Hey! Alfred! And, um, Alfred's friend-brother-person-uhhhh Matthew! Hey!"

The moment shatters.

Feliciano, Lovino's younger brother, in the same grade as Alfred, is skipping towards them brightly. He waves enthusiastically, smiling blindingly, bouncing forward on the toes of his shoes until he hops to a stop in front of where Alfred and Matthew are standing tensely with their bikes.

"Hi Alfred! Hi, um, um, Matthew!" he chirps, laughing a little as he continues to wave, "It's such a nice day! The sun is so bright and there are no clouds in the sky and school is over! Aren't you so glad it's summer and we don't have school? I'm meeting Ludwig at the ice cream parlour, do you want to come? Oh, are you busy? Sorry, sorry! Did I interrupt? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing!" squeaks Matthew quickly, and that's when Alfred remembers. Of all the people in the town who seem to be on this massive, obnoxious, dumb secret…Feliciano and Ludwig are not among them. You'd think they'd be, since Gilbert's Ludwig's older brother and Antonio works with Feliciano's grandfather, and Kiku's their good friend, but Alfred has never gotten the whole 'we know something you don't' vibe from the two of them. In fact, he's seen Ludwig cast the same bewildered looks at Kiku as the one Alfred gives to Arthur and Matthew.

The hurt frustration that's been building in Alfred's chest relaxes, just a little. That's right, Alfred isn't the only one not in the loop. This whole entire conspiracy isn't made to exclude him, exclusively.

"No, you didn't interrupt," Alfred says quickly, turning his entire body towards Feliciano. "Sure, I'd love to come get ice cream. Matt's busy though, he's gotta deliver some wrinklecream to Francis."

Alfred doesn't look to see the hurt expression he knows will be on Matt's face. He moves his bike off the sidewalk, one foot on the peddle, and looks at Feliciano impatiently.

"Oh, oh okay!" says Feliciano. He turns to Matthew, waving again. "Um, say a good morning to Francis for me! Bye, Matthew!"

Alfred's still not looking, so he doesn't know if Matthew nods or shrugs, or just stares stony-faced. His stomach twists a little, but he, he refuses to feel bad about this. This isn't his fault. This is everyone else's fault.

Feliciano is humming happily when he starts walking beside Alfred's bike, so he must not have noticed anything amiss with Matthew's expression. Not that he would- it's Feliciano, after all.

Feliciano is easy to get along with, and they quickly fall into a light conversation about what their summer plans are, as Alfred coasts slowly along the road and Feliciano skips merrily beside him. Feliciano is going work part time with the Edelstein's, since he loves cooking but doesn't have a lot of experience baking desserts. He's also going to spend more time with his cousin Gabriel, from Seborga, since even after being in the town for a year, his English still isn't very good. He jabbers on for about ten minutes about Ludwig's summer job at the Karpusi's veterinary clinic, working with the dogs, and how Feliciano can't wait to visit him as he's working, because he loves dogs, even if he is a bit, or very, scared of them.

He goes on about his Grandpa's cooking and church and farmwork and Antonio's dubiously improving English and Lovino's assertions that he was going to apply for work far far away and no one being able to tell if he was serious or not and about how excited he is to not be in school and how terrified he is of the report cards arriving in the mail any day now.

Alfred forgets, sometimes, what talking to someone his age is like when it's not covered up in vague half-meanings and allusions and things the other person just can't talk about. He forgets what it's like to have an honest conversation. An earnest one. No secrets.

If only he had a crush on Feliciano. Everything would be so much easier.

Well. Maybe not. He'd have to deal with Lovino screeching at him. And also, Ludwig would probably also be less than cool with it.

Katyusha's ice cream shop is busy. It's nearly afternoon by now, and summer, so there are a lot of kids, Alfred's age and younger, hanging around outside and inside. Alfred can see Katyusha herself through the glass windows of the store, smiling and moving about busily behind the counter.

Katyusha doesn't actually own the ice cream shop, she just works there, but no one seems to know who does own the shop, so to everyone, it's just Katyusha's ice cream shop.

Ludwig is sitting inside, as Feliciano said he'd be, and sharing a booth with Kiku and Heracles Karpusi.

Heracles is in Arthur's year, but he and Kiku are friends anyways, the way Alfred and Arthur are. Right now, he's leaning against Kiku less than casually, and looking at Kiku from beneath hooded eyelids less than casually. Alfred hopes to hell that's not what he looks like when he's with Arthur.

Kiku gives a small, but genuine smile when he sees Alfred, and Alfred's stomach twists. If he's mad at Matthew he should, by all accounts, be mad at Kiku as well. But he's starting to feel really bad about how he treated Matthew, and can't find it within himself to muster a glare for Kiku.

Kiku's gaze changes a little, head tilting to the side questioningly, like he's noticed something's off about Alfred. But then he's jostled roughly by Feliciano shoving himself down between him and Ludwig, wriggling to make himself fit.

Alfred sits on the other side of Ludwig. He'd have sat beside Heracles, just because Ludwig sometimes gets sweaty and uncomfortable being in close quarters with others, but sitting beside Heracles includes an 80% chance of him passing out for several hours on your shoulder, and Alfred feels like heading home soon. He needs to go back for his wallet, so he can finally get some milk for his cocoa.

Matt probably would have leant you money if you asked.

The thought makes Alfred wince. Oh he feels so baaad. Why was he so mean to Mattie? Why did Feliciano have to appear and provide such an easy escape from any possibility of confronting their issues? Why had Kiku gone back to staring at him? Why were they all staring at him?

"Alfred, why are you pulling at your hair?" Feliciano asks, "You'll go bald before twenty!"

With some effort, Alfred stops tugging at his bangs in frustration and lowers his hand to the table.

It should be nice to just be sitting together with his friends from school, enjoying the summer day, and Alfred tries to lose himself in the ease of the conversation, the way he did when he and Feliciano were walking here. Right now, Feliciano is jabbering excitedly in Ludwig's ear, and Ludwig's looking at him in fond bemusement. Then Feliciano turns and tugs on Kiku's arm, asking what they're going to order, and soon, the entire table's attention is on him, allowing Alfred to sag into his seat a little.

Feliciano and Heracles don't seem to be bothered, by Kiku keeping secrets, or by anything at all. Heracles is still leaning on Kiku and looking at him from up under his eyelashes like he's hung the moon, and Feliciano is crammed down between Kiku and Ludwig with a huge smile like there's nowhere else in the world he'd rather be.

Ludwig might be bothered by it, maybe. But Ludwig always seems bothered by something, so it doesn't really count. Though Alfred supposes he could talk to him about his worries about Kiku if he really, really wanted to.

Does he want to though? Right now, he just wants to stop feeling so crummy. Wants to sit back and enjoy his summer. The ice cream parlour is full of kids just enjoying summer. Feliciano's cousin Gabriel has just walked in with Winona from Wy, flirting unsuccessfully as usual. Two out of the three Dutch siblings are here; Femke is here with her younger brother, probably taking him out for a treat before heading in to work at Rajni's clinic. One of Roderich's cousins, the youngest, from Kugel-something or another, is sitting at a table with Lili Zwingli, sketching her on a napkin while she sips a milkshake and blushes. It's adorable. Everyone's doing what they're supposed to be doing in summer. Having fun. Enjoying and making the best of their summer.

Everyone except Alfred, who is, really, just sitting and stewing. It occurs to him that he can't even order anything. Because no wallet! He guesses he could ask to borrow some money, but…

Everyone already thinks he's irresponsible and airheaded. Ludwig definitely does, and Kiku probably thinks so as well. And confirming that by saying that he's left his wallet at home would just…make him feel worse than he already does.

Is that why no one tell him anything? Because he's irresponsible? Forgetful? Oblivious?

Somehow, Alfred has ended up feeling worse now than he did before. So much for the healing powers of sweet frozen treats.

"Sorry guys," he says, rising to his feet before the menu that's being passed around can reach him. "I've got to go. I've just remembered that, um, I forgot to water my houseplant."

All eyes are on him once again. Feliciano pouts, looking legitimately put out.

"Awww, bye Alfred," he says, waving sadly.

"The plant Arthur gave you?" Kiku asks, sounding vaguely disappointed. Whether that's because Alfred's leaving or because Alfred's apparently not taking care of his gift properly is anyone's guest.

"Yeah, that one," Alfred replies, avoiding eye contact and sliding out of the booth. He can feel Kiku's eyes on him as he stands up, and his shoulders hunch defensively. Instead of turning around to say goodbye, he keeps walking, waving one hand airily over his shoulder.

Second time today I've done that to a friend. The sour feeling in his stomach curdles. No wonder no one wants to tell me anything.

As a rule, Alfred shakes off bad moods and bad situations like their water and he's a rubber jacket. But this has been bothering him since he woke up, and it's sunk so deep into his mind that it's all he can think about. What is everyone keeping from him? Why is everyone keeping it from him? What can he do to make them stop keeping it from him?

It's a long cycle back home from here, and the day has only gotten hotter. The main street is busier now, more people out and about, enjoying the weather, going to work, enjoying the day. Alfred bikes past calls of greeting and belated birthday wishes, head ducked down. It's so hot.

Riding back seems to take longer than riding into town did, and by the time he's left the main street behind, Alfred's shirt is wet against his back, hair plastered against the side of his face. The buildings and shops have given way to the towering trees of the forest, clustered like a wall on either side of the road. The summer air is still, and dry, but even so, there's a slight rustle in the treetops, a murmur among the leaves as he coasts by.

The shade of the leaves is looking particularly inciting, and Alfred finds himself slowly rolling to a stop. Even on such a bright day, a sunny day, the forest looks dark. It's just- there are so many trees, so close together. Tall and towering, the leaves a thick canopy overhead. It seems a world away from the dusty, sun scorched road he's riding on. It's hard to imagine anyone being comfortable in there. Spending all their time within it.

It's not hard to imagine it containing secrets.

Alfred's grip on the handlebars of his bike tightens. There's dust in his nose and grit in his eyes, his lips dry when he bites them.

"It's hot," he says out loud, even though he's the only one around, "I'm going in the shade."

Slowly, deliberately, he dismounts his bike, hands twisting on the handles as he turns it, and begins slowly wheeling towards the forest's edge.

It's not safe in there, Alfred. He can imagine about ten different people telling him that. Everyone always does. When his dad, or police officers or teachers tell him to stay out of the forest, it's one thing. But when it's Arthur and Mattie and Kiku and Ivan of all people…

A branch snaps under Alfred's foot as he steps off the road, and he freezes.

The sound seems to echo endlessly, behind along the empty road, and before him, into the endless forest.

"It's just a branch," he mutters, tongue dry and heavy, "It's just a forest."

Alfred walks forward, a little further in, then leans his bike against a tree. It's heavy to push, and he's hot.

He tucks his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and goes on.

It is a lot cooler in the forest. The sunlight can barely make it through the thick leaves. There's also a chill, making the hair on Alfred's arms and the back of his neck stand up. Goosebumps all down his legs.

He should stop walking. He's just looking for shade, right? Well he has shade, right here, where he can still see the road, and the red metal of his bike. He should stop walking.

But what's in here? Alfred wonders. What's in here that Arthur and Dani and Niels love, but is too dangerous for anyone else? What does Kiku and his family walk through every day to get to school, that no one else dares step into?

Arthur and Dani live in the forest, and Niels and the Vargas's live on the edge of it. But there are roads that lead to and from their houses. Hard paved roads that no one feels comfortable straying from. No one goes off the path. The only time Alfred's been in the forest is when he's by where they live, and he's always stayed in sight of the house.

Alfred can still see the road behind him, but it seems distant. The ground is sloping downwards, and it's disappearing from view.

Just a little further, he thinks. I've never walked through here before. I just want to explore a bit!

Alfred thinks he can understand, a little, why Arthur likes this place so much. It's quiet, and secluded, and the way the trees reach up into the sky, endless and old, punches the air out of his lungs, the height of them nearly impossible to take in. It's definitely something Arthur would appreciate, and love.

And, of course, there's the distant trill of birds. The rustling of creatures in the underbrush. All of the small things that Arthur likes.

Alfred would get lonely in a place like this. But Arthur. A quiet place to be alone? While still being surrounded by the life and the living and all the green things that Arthur always has woven through his hair? Alfred thinks he just about finally gets it.

But.

But Alfred also understands why most people avoid this place like the plague. Why all the adults shiver and turn their eyes away from it. Why no one's tried to expand the farmland further inwards, leaving all of this forest uncleared. Why no one hikes, or bikes, or goes into this place at all.

Because Alfred just can't seem to shake this chill. This creeping feeling of unease, skittering up his spine and digging sharply into the base of his neck. This deeply unsettled, uncomfortable churning in his stomach.

I am afraid.

Alfred tries to jerk away from the thought, tries to shake it away decisively, tries to refute it. To say, no, he's a hero, he doesn't get scared, he's not scared of anything, ever.

But he can't.

The road is gone. He looks over his shoulder to look for it, to be reassured by it, and it's not there. It's gone. And it shouldn't be. He should still be able to see it, to see the sunlight, the red of his bike…

How far has he walked? How long has he been walking? It can't have been that long, can it?

He can't see the road behind anymore and he's scared.

Oh god, is he lost? Has he gotten himself lost? That's impossible. He's walked in a straight line, and the road has to be right-

He turns, the trees look the same.

He turns again, the trees look the same.

Again.

Again.

It's fine, he tells himself, just walk backwards, exactly the way you came. Just retrace your steps.

But he's turned around so many times he's not sure-

He doesn't- he can't figure out-

I'm not lost, Alfred thinks, desperately. And then, out loud: "I'm not lost!"

Alfred turns again, squints into the darkness, and decides that, yes, this is probably the way he came. This is probably the way to his bike and the road and home. He folds his arms across his stomach, and then decides that's too cowardly a pose and leaves them hanging at his side, hands clenched into fists.

"I'm not lost," he says, certain. "It's this way."

He walks.

And he walks.

And he walks.

He walks for ten minutes and knows he's gone the wrong way.

He turns back, walks for five minutes, and can't recognize anything he's seeing.

"Okay," he says out loud, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. It's still a hot day in July, and he's shivering.

"Okay," he says again, "I am…I am a little lost. But that's okay. That's okay, I'll just-,"

He cuts his words off, hugging himself.

Admitting something's wrong is the first step in solving a problem. Alright, so he's lost! That's fine. He just has to…try and retrace his steps again, and if that doesn't work, he can…climb a tree, and try and see the road.

"I'm lost, and that's okay," he says again, moving forward slowly. "Because people get lost all the time, and-,"

"This way!"

Alfred's head jerks to the side. Did someone…?

"I heard you're lost!" calls out a voice, high and feminine. "This way! I'll show you where to go!"

Oh my god. Alfred could cry with relief.

"Thanks!" he calls out, voice sounding only a little desperate. "Where are you?"

"This way!" calls the voice again, from his left. "Follow me!"

Alfred immediately takes off in a run towards the voice. Who is it? Which girl spends time in the forest? It's not Mei…Linh? No, that didn't sound like Linh. That didn't sound like anyone he knows actually.

"Hey!" he calls out, still running, "Who are-,"

"A friend of Arthur's!" calls the voice, a chime-like ringing to their tone, "A friend of Arthur walks through this forest!"

Alfred stumbles, foot catching on a loose branch.

"Arthur?" he echoes, confused. "What-,"

"This way!" chirps the voice, "This way! Let me lead you."

The words pass through him like a thunderbolt, and his question dissolves on his tongue. His body lurches forward, like something's dug a hook in to his chest and is pulling, and Alfred half-stumbles, half-jogs, in the direction of the voice.

"This way!"

Was it coming from in front of him? No, it's to the side…to his right…

"This way!"

Or is it coming from behind him? And to the left?

"This way!"

The voice is just in front of him.

"This way!"

The voice is right next to his ear.

"This way!"

The voice is breathing against the back of his neck.

Alfred whirls around and stumbles again, breathing hard. There is no one behind him. Just the endless, empty forest.

The fear twisting his stomach begins turning into dread, rising up in his throat like bile, and the goosebumps give way to shivers, give way to shakes.

"This way~" the voice is mocking now, a cruel edge. "Let us lead you away~"

Alfred's feet lurch forward again, following the voice through a compulsion he can't control. His legs are shaking and he trips, thudding painfully against the side of a tree. His chest is heaving, lungs tight and breath wheezing.

The voice calls again, closer this time, or maybe farther away, and he tries to push himself up off the tree. His hands are shaking. Something crashes behind him, branches cracking and the sound of footsteps on ground, and he can't get his body to respond quickly enough, cringing and bracing himself against the bark.

Something grabs his shoulder roughly and whirls him around.

"Alfred!"

It's Mattie.

It's Mattie, with his eyes wide and more purple than blue and his face pale and his breath ghosting in the air like breath never does in California.

"Alfred," he says again. And he reaches forward and grabs Alfred's hands.

They're freezing. The shock of it makes Alfred jump a little. Mattie's hands are so cold they almost hurt to hold.

"I have to get you out of here," Mattie murmurs, his lips blue. Why are his lips so blue? Why are his hands so cold? Why can't Alfred seem to be able to get his mouth to work in order to ask any of these questions out loud?

From somewhere all around him, the voice sounds again, and Alfred shudders. He can't hear the words, just the cadence, but it makes him pull back, away from Matt, towards whatever's calling him.

But Mattie's hands are suddenly like vices around his wrists. Cold as ice and just as hard. Alfred can't get free of them.

"Stop it," he says, his voice shaking, but louder than Alfred's ever heard it, "This isn't allowed, and you know it."

Alfred wants to hunch his shoulders defensively, but his control over his body seems to be at about 1/3 of normal functioning capacity. Still, he's a little abashed. He knows he's not supposed to go into the forest. It's just-

"Let him go," Mattie continues, voice brittle, but hard, like a lake frozen over in winter. "Let him go right now!"

It occurs to Alfred that he's never heard Matthew shout before. It also occurs to Alfred that Matt might not actually be talking to him.

There's a sound like a laugh, except not, because it sounds like glass shattering and a knife being dragged down a chalkboard and bees stinging in the inside of his ears. Matthew winces, then tenses up, nostrils flaring.

The temperature drops. Suddenly, Alfred can see his breath as well. He's shivering not out of fear, but because he's in a t-shirt and there's frost all over the trees and the leaves and ground and across Matt's glasses. There's snow in Matt's hair.

The voice makes a sound, a disappointed sound, still slightly mocking, then stops with what sounds like a sigh. The noise fades away, and then there's nothing but the leaves, blowing in the breeze.

The forest is silent.

"What…?" Alfred blinks, and sways a little, suddenly unmoored.

Mattie tugs on his wrists again, and this time Alfred stumbles forward. Relief floods Matt's expression, and he begins to walk, quickly, pulling Alfred along behind him.

As they move through the forest, Alfred feels like his ears are popping, like cotton was stuffed inside them, and now are being removed. He hadn't even realized how weird and slushy his thoughts had grown until he can suddenly think clearly again, like a haze has been lifted from his eyes and mind.

What the hell just happened?

Matthew is still pulling him along, no longer gripping his wrists but with fingers laced in his. His hands still feel abnormally cold.

"Mattie?" Alfred asks, and he's embarrassed at how small and scared his voice sounds. His hands are still shaking.

"It's okay, it's okay, Alfred," Matt says. He doesn't turn his head to look back, and he sounds half like he's trying to reassure himself. "We're almost out. It's okay."

Almost out? Alfred blinks, and looks forward, past Mattie's shoulders. He can see the lowlight through the trees, and orange glow that means sun. His heart thunders in his chest.

And then, they're out. On the road. The sky orange and yellow and clear, unobscured by thick, menacing trees. The evening breeze is cool, unlike the unsettling shade of the forest, and-

Wait.

Evening?

Matthew exhales heavily, shoulders quivering. He lets go of one of Alfred's hands and turns around, biting at his lip.

"Are- are you-," he sucks in his bottom lip, chewing on it nervously, "Al, are you okay?"

"It was afternoon," Alfred says, disbelieving, "I- I was only walking for like, 30 minutes tops. And it was early afternoon."

Matt's entire expression blanches, and then tightens.

"You got lost," he says quietly, "It's easy to do, in there."

"I- I know I got lost Mattie but that wasn't," Alfred's feeling panicked. His head is nearly spinning. "I wasn't lost for that long. I-I was, there was-,"

Alfred feels like someone put his thoughts through a blender. He got lost in the forest, he thought he heard someone calling him, guiding him, and then his thoughts get stuck in a loop or a circle where he doesn't know which way is up and he's not sure if he's remembering anything correctly because. Because.

"I'm sorry Alfred," Mattie says, like this is his fault somehow. His eyes are all red, like he's going to cry, except there are no tears, just…

Alfred reaches out without thinking, with his free hand, and brushes his fingers against Matthew's eyelashes. He flinches back, but not before Alfred has a collection of tiny frozen droplets on his fingertips, which linger a second before melting away.

Matt's mouth opens, then closes. Then opens again.

"Salt crystals," he says, definitively. "I-I was crying when I was looking for you. You- you really scared me Alfred!"

"What?" Alfred feels like he's been saying that a lot.

Matt's mouth wrinkles, like he's going to cry again right now, but he doesn't. He just squeezes Alfred's hand.

"I wanted to talk to you, so I rode to Katyusha's and they said you went home," he says, "But I still wanted to, so I decided to ride to your house, but-,"

Matt falters, and Alfred can see it, the actual, legitimate fear in his eyes.

"I saw your bike by the road, by the forest," his free hand twists in the fabric of his shirt. "I…I wasn't sure I'd find you. I can't believe you did that, Al! Went in there alone! Why don't you ever think? Why did you-,"

"You know why," Alfred snaps, sullen. "You, you and Kiku and Arthur and…"

He can't even muster the energy. He's tired. Alfred sags, and Mattie surges forward unexpectedly, wrapping his arms around Alfred's back. Alfred lets himself slump into the hug, all his anger evaporating. He feels exhausted and unsettled and like everything in the world has shifted slightly off balance. He doesn't know what happened to his day, where it went. Everything that happened in the forest has dissolved into a haze, and the things he can remember seem impossible. Frost on trees and laughter like knives.

"Let's…let's go to my place, Al," Mattie says, withdrawing. "You can sleep over…Francis won't mind…"

"I just…Matt, I just want to go home," Alfred says, pushing a hand through his hair. "I don't want to…I don't even want to talk about anything. I just…I just want to go home right now." He's so tired.

Mattie winces. "I know, I know. It's just…we're pretty far from it, and your bike's not here, and I don't want you to walk alone. My house is closer."

Alfred startles, and looks around. It's true, they didn't exit the forest where he'd entered. His bike is nowhere around. "Where are we?"

"Close to Arthur's house," Mattie says quietly.

A phantom memory surfaces. Of a voice saying, A friend of Arthur walks through this forest! But that couldn't have happened. Alfred had been alone when he'd been lost and wandering. Right? He'd been stumbling along with no idea where he was, and then Matt had found him, right?

Right.

Arthur's house is relatively close to town, and a lake borders the town on the other side. And that's where Mattie lives, against the water.

Matt usually sleeps over at Al's house, since it's just him and his dad. But Alfred has slept over at Matt's a few times. Angel used to like to sit and watch movies with them, until her friends told her boys had cooties. Francis always cooks something delicious, and asks Alfred about his love life. But he's already done that today, so hopefully they'll be spared that particular indignity.

"I…okay," He doesn't know if it's the heat, or having spent the day lost and wondering, but Alfred's just…worn out. He's tired. "Sure, I'll come over. I…I'll have to call my dad."

Matt doesn't look happy or relieved. He looks…subdued, both hands clutching his shirt.

"Okay," says Matt.

Another breeze rips through, and the treetops behind them wave and rustle. Alfred shudders.

"Okay," he whispers.

/

yeah, sorry. a bit more of a filler chapter, a bit rushed, but I think I've basically sort of introduced everyone now, even though, since it's from Alfred's pov you don't quite know who's human who's not, so that's still to be revealed!

i've been doing a hefty amount of planning for this fic, and as a result, i'm not really going to be filling requests anymore, and I apologise for that. some stuff that's already been requested will pop up in coming chapters, but not everything that's been requested. again, I apologise.

That said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you enjoy the ones to come! ...whenever they come. whenever...that...may be...

As always, feel free to pop by my tumblr. url is the same. tag for this story is 'dinb'. the only reason this chapter is out now is because people popped into my inbox from time to time to remind me this story existed lmao