Lovino drank his coffee and glared sullenly at the grey sky. Even though it was early morning, he knew it was going to rain today too. It had rain throughout the night, and even now, the skies still let a few small tears fall down to the earth. It was a depressing sight. An irritating sight.

There was a swift rap at the door and he frowned, going to open it. Lovino froze, staring at a pair of green eyes that stood out in stark contrast to the dull day. He slowly let his gaze drift down and up again, taking in the dark trench coat, dark umbrella, and equally dark scowl.

"Don't look so surprised." A small, cool smile curved on Arthur's pale lips. "Good morning."

"What are you doing here?"

"To pick you up, of course. Get your things, I'm usually there by now."

He grew flustered. "What the hell! I... You—!" Lovino's words degraded into frustrated noises, and Arthur watched on in amusement. He ran inside, leaving the door open, and grabbed his bag.

"Don't forget your blazer," Arthur called from the doorway.

"Fuck you," he grumbled, and grabbed the blazer. "Feliciano! I got a ride! Don't worry about me getting to school!"

"What?" His brother's voice came from upstairs and Lovino doubted Feliciano heard him.

He closed the door and glared at Arthur. "You weren't kidding about coming to pick me up in the mornings too."

"I never 'kid,'" Arthur replied jokingly, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth. The President was having fun watching him flustered.

Lovino let out a huff and stomped pass Arthur. A big drop fell down the back of his collar and Lovino shivered. Arthur came up beside him and held the umbrella over them both. "You shouldn't go off like that. Are you really angry?"

"No. Riding with you is better than riding with Gilbert." He spared a thin smile for the President. "I don't want to punch you every time I fucking see you."

Arthur let out something that could have been a laugh and they walked to his car. Lovino threw his bag in the back and himself into the front while Arthur went to the driver's side. The drive to school was slow, especially with Arthur at the wheel, and Lovino found himself for once wanting to arrive at school.

"I walk faster than you drive."

"If you're so eager to walk, then perhaps I should stop driving you," Arthur grumbled and pulled into his parking spot right at the front of the school.

"Cheh. Whatever." Lovino grabbed his bag and walked with Arthur into the school. He felt the eyes of a few people looking at them, but he brushed them off apathetically. He was never one to care about what others were assuming about him.

"See you in...whatever classes we have together."

"We're both going to English." The President cocked a brow up.

Lovino blinked. He didn't remember Arthur being in any of his classes, although Lovino assumed they shared a few. Now that he thought about it, Lovino remembered that the English teacher took a liking to Arthur and almost always called on him to read from the book. There had more than one occasion he'd fallen asleep to the smooth lull of Arthur's voice. "I remember now. I forgot about that." Lovino waved a hand. "This is what happens when I don't even get to finish my coffee. I start forgetting things I should remember."

"Perhaps if you got up earlier, this wouldn't be a problem."

"Shut up. I hope we're late just for you."

Arthur merely let out a small chuckle and they walked to class.

...

He set off at a brisk pace across the football field. It was usually a hassle to sneak out of the school when the teachers watched the hallways like wolves, waiting for some unfortunate student to get caught slipping out. Lovino almost always managed to get out of his oppressive prison. He struck a deal with the football coach that he was allowed to go out to the field during lunch, so long as he promised to help during try-outs and with any players who were having trouble. The coach had once seen him play with his brother, and ever since, pestered Lovino to join the team. As much as he loved football, Lovino had no interest in playing for anything more than pleasure. He didn't have the competitive streak that one needed to win, and he also didn't handle losing well when he actually put effort into something—and football would be one of those things he'd go all out for.

No one around and he liked it that way. If Antonio wasn't sick, Lovino might be in the school garden with him and his friends, but this way he could at least smoke a cigarette under the bleachers without being on alert for a passing teacher. He could set himself up under the bleachers and see whoever was coming before they got close enough to see him. It was also the best place to do business out of. He had planned to stay out of the contraband business when he first started out at the new school, but that was easily scrapped once he found its little weakness and blindspots. All he had to do was clear out the other dealers and started a monopoly. It was just his luck that the old dealer got caught and expelled a few days before he opened up shop. Whether Lovino had anything to do with that, no one would ever find evidence that could incriminate him.

He started with cigarettes, but once he made friends with Antonio it really took of; better than it had at any previous school. Antonio had a taste for alcohol, and his cousin owned a liquor store. A few missing bottle didn't bother his cousin, so long as there were a few extra twenties in the cash box. Then, Antonio's friend, Francis, got in on it. Francis was popular with the female populous, along some of the male student body. He catered to the more sexual needs of the student body, supplying condoms and lubricants to any who were brave enough to go at it on school grounds, and apparently, there were a quite a few. The only thing Lovino didn't allow to enter the school was drugs.

He absolutely despised drugs of any kind. They were dirty and life ruining, and Lovino didn't play that game. His school was drug free and Lovino made sure it stayed that way. The entire school could be tipped upside down and shaken, and not a single ounce of anything would fall out. No pot, cocaine, nor meth, disgraced the halls of the school or the bloodstreams of students. If someone ever did try to start up a business with drugs, Lovino struck it down with the fury of an angry god. That's the beauty of a monopoly. No one could go against him unless they wanted to get cut off from everything, and he meant everything. Over half the student body was hooked on cigarettes, and the other half wanted alcohol and condoms. Of course, he wasn't a tyrant. He only had two rules: No drugs, and no competition.

"You got cigarettes?" asked a quiet, feminine voice.

"Probably. You got money?" He cocked his head up lazily, eyeing the girl up and down. She was a small, little thing and scared half to death, but cute in a timid way. Lovino had never sold to her before, but something about her short, choppy hair and big eyes seemed to strike him as familiar. "You're Vash's sister."

She tensed up and clutched her hands together. "No."

"Don't lie. You know I can't sell to you, and you know your brother would find out." Lovino took a deep drag from a cigarette and let it out slowly. He hated to lose money. "Have you even smoked before, bambina?"

"Yes." For a bad liar, she put on a brave face.

"Then have a puff." Lovino held out his cigarette to her, smiling pleasantly, but he was really looking forward to her coughing up a lung.

The girl took it from him, a flash of defiance in her eyes, and took a drag. She didn't cough immediately like he thought she would, but her eyes watered as she let out the smoke and that told him enough. "I still can't sell to you, but you can have that one as a freebie."

He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to protest. "Take it up with your older brother, not me. He knows what is good for you, and smoking isn't."

"Then why do you and brother do it?" She crushed the cigarette under her foot, on the edge of frustrated tears.

"Hey, no waterworks." He sternly frowned at her. "We do it, so others won't. People do enough bad without the good following example. Run along." Lovino knew the girl didn't understand; she was too young. A first year if he remembered correctly, with a flower name he couldn't remember, and a brother with a shotgun (whether it was legal or not) who was impossible to not remember.

The girl left and Lovino vaguely wondered how hard it must be with such an overbearing brother. He picked up the crushed cigarette and threw it away. It would be no good if they started finding cigarette buds lying around. He'd lasted this long from discovery, because it didn't look like the school smoked at all.

Lovino didn't go back to his bag for another cigarette; he'd met his quota for the moment. Instead, he walked over to the equipment shed and unlocked it with his key. Lovino got a ball from the bin and dribbled it out onto the field. He dropped his blazer and sweater on a bench, leaving him only in his white shirt. He considered taking the shirt off too, but Lovino didn't care if it got a bit dirty, he could always put his sweater back on.

The grass was still wet from yesterday's rains and the ground was soft. It was too wet to go running around and too cold to exert himself. He just continued to dribble the ball up and down the grass. A jerk of his foot, he hooked the ball and threw it in to the air, balancing it on his head. It dropped back down and rolled away. Lovino let out a breath and watched the air cloud out in front of him. It was too cold and wet to be out in only a shirt, his slacks, and his dress shoes. Already, his shoes were caked with mud and the bottom of his pants were soaked.

Out of annoyance, Lovino kicked the ball into the goal from across the field and trailed after it with his hands in his pockets. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone watching him in one of the large windows that lined the East Corridor. He assumed it was the Coach and retrieved the ball. Lunch was coming to an end and he put the ball up. When he looked back to the window, the Coach was gone and the bell rung.

...

It was starting to get dark and Arthur still had yet to come out of the school. Lovino thought about calling the idiot, but quickly realized he didn't have the President's number. Once the sun began its decent below the horizon, Lovino stormed up the steps of the school and peeked into the window. It was dark inside and he didn't know if there was even a janitor left inside. He glanced at the parking lot; the only car left was Arthur's. Lovino tried the doorknob knowing it wouldn't open and sighed. He could very well just walk home, but Arthur didn't seem like the type of person to forget him. After all the effort the bastard had put into bothering him, there had to be something wrong.

Lovino shoved his hands into his blazer pockets and sighed, trying to think of some way to get into the school. His fingers met cold metal and a grin pulled up his lips. He took the pick and wrench from his pocket, and quickly raked the lock. The door swung open and he stepped inside. All the lights were off and Lovino found it unnerving to see the halls so empty. Even during classes, there were usually a few people wandering the long corridors and there was almost always a teacher around to catch the students trying to skip. Lovino stalked through the halls quickly and made for the student council room. He wasn't sure Arthur would be there, but it was a good place to start.

As he thought, Lovino found Arthur at the desk with his head down. It took his a moment to realize the blond was asleep. He couldn't help but cringe out how uncomfortable Arthur looked. The President had his face buried in his elbow and the other arm resting awkwardly over his head. Lovino glanced over the papers under Arthur's arm and spotted his name. Carefully, he worked the file out from under Arthur's arm and opened it up.

It read the general information: his rank and average grades, along with his record. Lovino almost laughed. There wasn't a single bad report about him. The teachers had yet to catch him doing any of his "club" activities. It was listed, though, that he'd been expelled from his last two high schools. He scowled at the black, innocent lettering and closed the file. Lovino smacked Arthur over the head with the folder.

"Wake up."

Arthur sat up with a start and stared at him. "Huh? How did you get in here?"

He didn't justify that with an answer and held up the file.

The President sat straighter. The gears worked visible in Arthur's head to form some excuse to explain the file. "That's how I know you're grades."

"Uh-huh. Do you always use your position to get information?"

The blond scoffed softly. "Would you have me believing the rumors that fly around? I'll put my trust in something black and white, thank you very much."

"You'd be surprise by how much black and white is written by grey," Lovino mutter and dropped the file on the desk. "Come on. I want to get home."

"I apologize." Arthur put the file in the desk and grabbed his things.

The silence between them was impenetrable. Lovino wasn't pissed about the invasion of his privacy; he was just mad for something he couldn't quite put his finger on. He hadn't expected Arthur to pulled such a dick move. He had hoped Arthur would have a little more decency than that. It was giving him flashbacks to the beginning of the year when the other students pawed at him curiously. Lovino always did hate answering the questions and explaining. In the end, he just ignored whoever asked and snapped at those who persisted. It was the least to say, he wasn't the type to make friends easily. It was somewhat of a miracle he managed to become such close friends with Antonio.

"I was curious. You cannot fault me for that," Arthur said in a low voice.

"No, but I will." He didn't look at the blond. Lovino was afraid that if he did, he would do something regrettable. Whether it was punching Arthur or forgiving him, he didn't know.

"Do you know what people say about you? I couldn't honestly believe all that. At least looking up your file doesn't include all the rumors." Arthur threw up his hands in frustration. "I mean, someone told me you spiked your last school's entire water system. Not only is that ridiculous, I don't even know how you would get that much alcohol."

"I don't need to hear what idiots say." He had to admit, that was one of the more outrageous rumors. Lovino didn't really blame Arthur and the more time passed, the more he stopped caring.

"Almost all the teachers don't like you, because they know you've been kicked out of other schools. Do you think they're deaf to the rumors that float around the students? I've heard some of them even say you sell cigarettes and alcohol," Arthur said angrily.

Lovino looked at Arthur sharply. "You don't believe that, do you?"

"No, but I remember all the buzz at the beginning of the year when you wouldn't say a word about your previous schools, and I remember other students making up crazy stories. It was ridiculous what they would say. After meeting you, I can't believe even half the things they said."

"Hn."

"You're far too lazy to run contraband around."

"Cheh." He laughed harshly and shook his head. Was Arthur really so blind? "Calm down. I don't understand why you're so angry."

"I hate liars and gossip. It makes me angry to hear others slander good people. There's no reason to it. There's no purpose for such malice." Arthur made sure the school doors were locked, giving him a dirty look when he found them to be unlocked.

He watched, caught between annoyance and amusement. "You think I'm a good person?"

"Well, I don't think you're a bad person."

Lovino moved his head in the slightest of nods and they walked out to Arthur's car. He threw his bag onto the floorboard and sat down in the seat with a loud thump. Arthur joined him, equally as quiet and sullen. He knew Arthur was trying to work out the silence in his head, like any problem the President had ever faced before, and he felt somewhat bad for the President. Arthur was simply trying to wade through all the shit around him to get to some nugget of truth, but what Arthur didn't know was that he had as much chance finding truth around Lovino as a miner did finding gold in a desert.

"It's fine. I don't really care that you were looking at my file, or what you choose to believe from the rumors."

"You don't care about much, do you?" grumbled Arthur and put the key in the ignition.

"No, I don't." Lovino ran a hand through his hair, gripping the strands lightly before letting them run through his fingers. He hadn't dared to smoke while he was waiting for Arthur, and it was already getting to him. "And you care too much, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Arthur pulled out of the parking lot. "But it's my job to care."

"Shitty job."

"I agree."

He surprised himself with a chuckle. Lovino couldn't understand it, but Arthur's back-handed way of degrading himself amused him. "You know, I used to think you were much worse than you actually are. You should be more upset about the rumors about you than the ones about me."

"I can't be upset about them, they're all true. I am a cold-hearted, uptight, blatant homosexual," said Arthur with only a hint of good humor.

Lovino was surprised by Arthur's honesty, but only slightly. He decided Arthur deserved a bit of his own honesty. "You know, I've decided I like you. You care too much and you're a snob, but I like you."

Arthur looked at him in surprise, as if those words were something new to him.

"You're bossy too," Lovino added when Arthur didn't say anything. "Arthur, we're not moving."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Arthur turned his attention back to the road, returning to his almost turtle speed.

The rest of the drive was quiet. When they arrive at his home, Lovino got out, pausing only to say a short goodbye. He didn't bother inviting Arthur in, because the only thing on his mind were the cigarettes in his bag and his likely missing brother. Lovino decided it was too much trouble to think about Arthur while he started on dinner, but he did anyway. The smoke from the end of his cigarette in a way reminded him of the President. It floated in the air only momentarily before dispersing like Arthur's smile, and the burning end smoldered like Arthur's eyes. It was annoying, he decided, and troublesome to have the President around. He was practically begging to get caught and expelled from yet another school if he even considered becoming anything more than carpool mates; and the worst part was he had considered it for a brief second.

Lovino thought back to all the people he ever considered friends. He could count all the "good" people on one hand, and not a single one came after he left Primary school. Of course, it's not as though he tried to stay on the straight and narrow. Lovino knew he was meant to stray from the right and dance with the wrong. Words like trouble child, delinquent, and ne'er-do-well had been tagged to him and he wore them like a new style, flaunting them under the noses of those who wished to change him. It was only recently that he decided to change his ways, or at the very least, suppress them. After going through two high schools in two years, he got smart and swept all his "bad" habits under the rug. Lovino didn't do it specifically for his sake, though. It took him a few tries to remember he had a younger brother, who took the lose of his friends much harder than Lovino ever could.

He could never stand to see Feliciano cry, which was probably why he was so spoiled, and it only took one move for Lovino to realize he couldn't get expelled from every school they went to. Feliciano, like his older brother, had a hidden backbone and would never let his brother go away without him. Lovino didn't know whether to find that annoying or endearing, mostly the former. It was comforting having someone stick with him—believe in him as Feliciano always did—and it made him guilty when he treated Feliciano badly, which was often. He knew how he must seem to his brother: constantly angry and annoyed, mean and haughty; but if there was one person he cared about at all in the world, it was Feliciano. And it was for Feliciano's sake he couldn't get caught.

But he couldn't stop either, for his own sake.