This was not how Amelia planned the day to go. She knew people would be intrigued by the whole scandalous Alfred event, but she didn't realize how insane it would make everyone! She now felt super guilty for ever spilling the beans in the first place. Alfred wasn't actually a bad guy...he just made a fatal mistake that there was absolutely no way to recover from. But he still didn't deserve all the awful things the school population was saying about him. She hadn't even spotted Alfred at all that morning, which was weird since he was usually loudly talking or laughing with his friends in the halls.

After hearing all the terrible opinions all her classmates had on the situation, the only person Amelia was actually curious about was Arthur. Was he grossed out? Flattered? Was he even into guys? I mean like, Amelia's gaydar went off whenever she was around him, especially when he wore those tight pants and the occasional v-neck shirt. Like, what kind of guy would do that? Gay.

So maybe Arthur was flattered that Alfred was thinking about him in bed. Maybe he liked Alfred after all. Basically the entire school as a whole liked Alfred so it wouldn't be a surprise. Amelia was lucky enough to make it to the front runners on actually scoring a date with him, whereas most girls hopelessly pined after him with lovesick hearts and creepy smiles. It was actually kinda like a high school crowning achievement, going out with one of the hottest guys at school. Amelia thought about making herself a medal: 'Got to Homebase with Alfred Jones, Even Though He Wasn't Thinking About Me While We Were Doing it But it Still Counted'. Actually Amelia wasn't too sure if that would even fit on a medal, I guess she'd have to find out.

Regardless, if she couldn't find Alfred to set things right, she would just have to find Arthur instead. And she knew exactly where to look: the student council room. Sure enough, Arthur was sitting at his desk, countless papers and binders spread out before him. He clearly had a ton of work to do, but instead of actually doing anything productive, he was staring dreamily at the far wall with a tiny smile on his face and half lidded eyes. Usually he was hyper-aware of everything going on around him, never one to be caught off guard, but this time he hadn't even noticed Amelia had come into the room. Amelia smirked. If that enchanted expression meant anything at all, it showed her that Arthur really did like Alfred and that Amelia's gaydar was spot-on. She began concocting a plan that would ease her guilt for ruining Alfred's reputation and play matchmaker at the same time. She loved playing matchmaker!

After clearing her throat loudly, she watched Arthur jump out of his seat in shock, clearly not expecting Amelia to be standing right next to him.

"Arthur! Just the guy I wanted to see!" she began. Arthur's face immediately turned into one of suspicion.

"Whatever it is you want, the answer is no. I can already see that you are up to no good."

A metaphorical halo appeared over Amelia's head. "What is that supposed to mean? I'm not doing anything bad! I just... need your help with something important!"

Arthur's eyes narrowed further. "Mm. Right. And what would that be exactly?"

This was going to be harder than Amelia thought. Then again, everyone knew Arthur was incredibly stubborn. Looks like she would have to explain everything. "Okay so the thing is, I told a really embarrassing story about Alfred to a lot of classmates earlier today..."

"..Yes. I'm aware."

"And I really didn't mean for it to spiral out of control the way it did! Like I knew people would talk about it but I still feel awful about throwing Alfred head-first into social exile like that!"

Arthur was growing less and less amused. "Really now. You had absolutely no idea what the repercussions of your actions would be?"

"Stop using big words. Anyway, so I feel really bad about it and I need your help."

"Uh huh. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news Amelia, but you created this mess and you can't skimp away from the consequences by forcing your problems on other people. I'm afraid you're on your own with this. Now if you'll excuse me.." Arthur started to get up to shoo Amelia away from the room so he could shut the door. Amelia would have none of that.

"I know you like him."

Arthur sputtered and his face grew red. "What in God's name are you talking about?"

Another smirk. She had him now. "I know for a fact that you have the hots for Alfred Jones. And I also know for a fact that Alfred Jones has the hots for you, if him yelling out your name during sex is any indication."

Arthur became even redder. With all the insanity that day, he had nearly forgotten that it was AMELIA who had slept with Alfred and it was AMELIA who heard Arthur's name instead of her own come from Alfred's lips. How had he managed to block that part out of his memory to only focus on the part where Alfred was clearly having fantasies about him? Oh Gods...

"...Alright...so what?"

"SOOO that means I'm going to be a super awesome person and set you two up! To make up for humiliating him. That way everybody wins!" Amelia paused for dramatic effect. "And there's nothing you can say that will get you out of this so you better start agreeing to my plan now so we don't waste anymore time."

Arthur considered his options, green eyes assessing every twitch of Amelia's face to see if there was any falsehood in her statements. He found none. Grumbling, he conceded defeat. "Fine. What do you suppose we do then?"

She grabbed his arm and started to pull him out of the student council room and down the hall. "We have to find Alfred of course! I heard from my friend Tiffany that she saw Alfred in first period, but then he ran out of the room. She wouldn't tell me why he bolted but it probably had something to do with her. So anyways, I have a feeling Alfred is hiding somewhere in school. We just have to hunt him down!"

Arthur, still being pulled around the hallways like a ragdoll, paled considerably. "But! He could be anywhere! And I have no idea what to say to him if we DO find him! Maybe he went home or something." Arthur was not usually one to shy away from a challenge, but this was the sort of situation he had almost no experience in. He had been crushing on Alfred for years now, and now he might actually have a chance with him. But at what cost? He wasn't prepared to deal with the eruption of gossip that would inevitably ensue if they started going out. Augh, why must everything be so complicated?

"Dudeee, come on! You gotta calm down!" Amelia grabbed both of his arms and looked him square in the eye. "Leave the talking to me once we actually find the sneaky bastard. I know he's around here somewhere. Everything's gonna work out just fine, you'll see!" Arthur was doubtful.

Minutes dragged on as they searched empty classrooms, men's restrooms (Arthur went in, not Amelia obvs!), and the occasional boiler room. This was taking forever. "Alright lemme think for a second. If I were Alfred where would I hide..." Just then, a freshman student by the name of Raivis crashed into them after running around a corner.

"Eek! Oh my, I'm so sorry!"

Arthur was rubbing his shoulder where Raivis had careened into him. "Watch where you're going! Honestly, there is no running in the hallways!"

"I know, I know! I just, heard some strange grumblings coming from the broom closet down the hall and it really creeped me out!" Amelia and Arthur shared a look.

"What do you mean 'strange grumblings?'" Amelia was suddenly very interested. She was like a detective about to solve a crucial mystery! In this scenario Arthur was her sidekick.

Raivis looked a bit cornered. "I'm not sure exactly..I just heard some grumbling coming from inside the closet while I was walking by. It was pretty loud and sounded like a goblin." He looked like he was about to tear up.

"Alright, thanks!" Amelia grabbed Arthur's unsuspecting arm again and whisked him away down the hall where Raivis had come from, leaving the poor freshman standing there confused and alone.

The two approached the broom closet delicately, embodying the very definition of discretion and stealth. At last, after getting the 'go ahead' look from Arthur, Amelia grabbed the handle and yanked the door to the closet wide open.

Sure enough, after the inside of the broom closet was revealed, Alfred's head shot up, his body flailed, and his chair tipped to the side at such an alarming rate that the poor boy ended up faceplanting into a dirty mop. "AHH! Not again!" Alfred struggled to stand up after his fumble, muttering curses and adjusting his glasses until he looked a little more put together. Once he got a good look at Arthur and Amelia standing in front of him, however, he went completely pale and made to grab the closet door to once again shut himself in there, his secret hideaway. Unfortunately for him, Amelia deliberately held the door away from him, leaving Alfred unprotected and vulnerable. He started to tremble. Of course the two people he did not want to see that day were right there. In front of him. Together. Life just loved fucking with him didn't it. Woopdee doo for him!

"Alfred, before you freak out, I just want to let you know that we're going to fix this! Everything will be okay, I promise!" Amelia was so good with this pep talk thing, she should be a therapist or something.

"HAHAHA okay yeah well I'm already past the point of freaking out, so you're a little late with that one!" It was clear by the nervous laughter and fast talking that Alfred was unraveling, he didn't know what to do with himself, and there was no way he was going to look up at Arthur. A hand was placed on his shoulder, Amelia's hand. Why does everyone's name start with A?

"Hey now I know this is a tough day for you, and before you say anything I want you to know that I'm really really sorry that the whole school knows what happened last night. I'm still a little pissed at you for not thinking about ME when we...well you know. But still. I'm sorry. So Arthur and I wanted to find you and-"

"How did you find me anyway? I thought that hiding spot was really good!"

Amelia continued, not liking being interrupted, "Someone heard grumbling coming from the closet you were in."

Alfred's eyes widened. "ARGG that's only because I'm like, super hungry right now! I usually have my mid-morning snack by now but it's in my locker and so I had to skip it! I couldn't help my stomach growling so loud! I'm literally starving to death right now."

Arthur rolled his eyes at the dramatics and Alfred finally spared a glance at him. Arthur had yet to speak and that made Alfred even more nervous, he definitely did not want to hear what the student body president thought of him now. The two of them weren't exactly close, weren't really considered friends, maybe just acquaintances/frienemies. They would bicker a lot during school but it wasn't hostile or anything, mostly it was lighthearted quips thrown from both sides. Now that Alfred's super secret was out, would Arthur ignore him for the rest of their high school career? Was this the end of whatever they didn't have in the first place? Alfred was growing more and more upset thinking about it. Thankfully, Amelia came to the rescue as always.

She nudged Arthur a little closer to Alfred and gestured for him to say something. Arthur immediately backed away. "You said you would handle the talking!" he stated angrily through clenched teeth.

Amelia smiled. "Yeah, I did the introduction. Now you take it from here!"

He scowled and looked at Alfred for a split second before blushing profusely. He inhaled and began, "Listen...Alfred...I, uh. Well, you see...that is to say, um..."

Alfred was hanging on to every utterance Arthur spoke but Amelia could quickly see this wasn't going anywhere. She decided to have mercy on Arthur and take the reins of the conversation once again. "Alright here's the deal, Alfred, buddy, my main pal. This is what's gonna happen. You two are going to go on a date since you both like each other. And it needs to be today so you guys don't have a lot of time to freak out about it. After school you'll go for a stroll in the park or something. Nice and lowkey. Maybe afterward you can go get a bite to eat somewhere. Then Alfred will walk Arthur home and you'll share a goodnight kiss. Sounds good right? Man, I really should start writing fanfiction or something! That sounds like a really nice date!"

The two boys looked at one another, confused and somehow elated at the same time, mostly from Alfred's side. He heard Amelia's spiel but what stood out most was the 'since you both like each other' part. "Is that true, Arthur? Do you really...like me too?"

Well, no point in lying. "Um. Maybe. I suppose. I mean, sort of. I think. No, not 'I think'." Arthur made a garbling sound of frustration and attempted that again, "Yes. Alright, yes. I have feelings for you as well. Perhaps." Well, that was good enough for Alfred! He swooped in and gave Arthur a huge hug, smiling happily against Arthur's rigid body. Amelia watched the scene fondly, but then she remembered her quest was not over. She may have brought the two love birds together, but that still didn't solve the whole reputation thing.

"Sorry to disturb this beautiful moment, but we have other things to discuss as well."

Reluctantly, Alfred unwrapped his arms from around Arthur. "Okay what is it?"

"I still feel really bad about all the gossip going around, so I'm trying to think of a way to fix it. Ah! I got it, how about I just tell everyone that I misheard you last night? I'll tell everyone that you really didn't yell out 'Arthur' but something else instead? That would work, right?"

"I don't think so, nothing really sounds like 'Arthur'."

"There has to be something that sounds like it! Hmmmmm, oh! How about 'Aardvark'! That sounds like 'Arthur'!"

"Why the bloody hell would he yell out Aardvark while climaxing? That makes absolutely no sense!"

"Argh okay fine. Hmm what else sounds like it? I got it! 'Artfart'!"

"...What the fuck Amelia."

"Arthritis? Artery? Absorptiometer? And before you ask, yes, that last one is a word; I learned about it in science class."

Arthur brought two fingers to pinch at the bridge of his nose. He had no time for this. "Listen, that plan will not work. It wouldn't make sense for him to have yelled out something other than my name, especially if the two of us start dating!" Alfred blushed upon hearing that, the prospect of actually being with Arthur was still sinking in.

"Okay fine, I'll think of something later," she paused, "And I'll leave you two alone for a bit before the next bell rings and all the students crowd the hallways again. You guys might wanna go somewhere private". She winked. "Oh and if you think you guys are getting out of going on that date later, I'll hunt you both down."

"To be honest, I can't tell if you're being nice or completely crazy," Alfred replied, watching her walk away.

"Probably both," Arthur muttered next to him.

"In any case, we appreciate your help, Amelia! Thanks for bringing us together!" Alfred put his arm around Arthur and brought him close. Amelia grinned and gave them small nod and a "no probs, buddy!" as she disappeared around a corner, leaving the two of them alone, or so they thought.

Their ensuing snogging session appeared on the front page of the school newspaper the next day, thanks to Tiffany who had been hiding behind a corner during the entire exchange. But that was okay, because even though the picture of the pair making out was now out in public, the gossip and drama eventually sizzled out thanks to Amelia threatening to spread rumors about whoever thought it was okay to speak negatively about Arthur and Alfred. She was like their own personal protector. Yes, things certainly worked out very well for the two boys, and luckily for Alfred, he never yelled out the wrong name during sex ever again.

This was a really fun story to write! Took me a while to get out of my writer's block for third chapter but I'm happy with how it turned out :) Thanks for reading!