Chapter 4! *Bounces happily* Good news! I have officially reached the status of COLLEGE FRESHMAN! I also got a new laptop and somewhat steady internet! Classes just started and I'm already tired.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own APH/Hetalia

Paramount High School; After the Show

Hey, losers! It's the Amazing Gil! Gilbert leaned against the fence outside of the football field, the albino being one of the few lingering around the stadium after the show. He stared intently at his phone, typing the words into his blog post as fast as he could, figuring he could edit it later. You already know I'm in New Jersey, but guess what? So is the Bedlam Circus. The first night was so BORING! He paused. Was that the right way to describe it? Boring? No, it wasn't boring as much as it was sickly sweet. Everything was tailored to children, childish jump scares and all. Then again, the stories said it started out that way. So, the first night was exactly as expected. At least to me, it was boring. It's supposed to be though. If you live under a rock or you're un-awesome, let the awesome me explain: Gilbert paused, the words in his brain coming to a screeching halt as his phone started to vibrate in his hand.

He sighed, glaring at the Caller ID. Of all the people that had to call when he was on a writing high, it had to be his brother. He slid his thumb upwards, putting the phone to his ear. "The Awesome Gil speaking," He smirked at the audible sigh that Ludwig gave him. It always gave him some sort of satisfaction.

"Please tell me you didn't go to that circus," The statement stunned Gilbert. The next question in any conversation the two brothers had was usually 'Why do you still call yourself that?' Still, Gilbert just shrugged.

"I've been following it since it started, figured I'd give the challenge a shot," The albino let his legs lead him to a nearby bench.

"A challenge that's left people dead! How stupid ca-"

"How did you even know I was at the circus?" Gilbert decided to cut off his brother's passive-aggressive worrying. He had heard it all before.

"I read your blog. You're in New Jersey, the circus is in New J-"

"I get it," Ruby red eyes glanced at the cloudy night sky, asking whatever deity was available to end this conversation as soon as possible. There was a moment of silence as Ludwig sighed once again with exasperation. "You can hang up now," Gilbert stated upon realizing his brother had nothing more to say. He was fine with that. He had nothing more to say either.

"Ja. Jus-"

"Don't do anything stupid. I know," Gilbert hung up, his grip tightening on his phone. If it wasn't so expensive, he might've thrown it. Taking a deep breath, he decided to continue his blog post. If you live under a rock or you're un-awesome, let the awesome me explain: The Bedlam Circus sprang up from literally nowhere in Yellow Springs, OH about a month ago and they only stay for five nights. The first is cute. The second is family friendly. The third is fun. The fourth is scary, and on the fifth, some swear Alfred opens a portal to Hell itself. Not only that, but they've left a corpse or two in every location.

I went to the first night tonight and if you're expecting it to be cute and child-friendly, you'd be right. It was sickening, fucking sickening! There were candy and dancing clowns. And not a single one of those fuckers looked like Pennywise. I'm excited to see how this:' He made a note to place some sort of picture there that would explain what he had seen. 'Is supposed to become this: He made another note for a scarier picture.

The time in the corner of the screen told him that the bus will be making its last round in just a few minutes and Gilbert wasn't in the mood to walk all the way back to his hotel. It was dark, quiet, and his headphones were dead, which meant that he'd be left alone with his thoughts. He didn't want to be alone with those. He let his feet take over, guiding him to the bus stop while he checked his follower count. While his brother saw the circus as dangerous, he found it refreshing. Gilbert's blog usually followed horror movies and urban legends. However, Bedlam was real, and while it wasn't exactly a healthy obsession, he wasn't going to let up on his research now. The circus had helped his follower count skyrocket, as he not only followed the circus itself like the others, but he dug into the performers' pasts. He posted what little he found onto his other social media outlets, seeing he never had enough to make a proper post.

The albino looked up as the bus pulled to a screeching halt at the curb. He took his time standing, making his way to the driver and paying his toll. The driver just grunted, and Gilbert found himself doing the same. The joys of riding the bus versus a taxi; he didn't have to talk to anyone. Flopping into a seat, he opened the notepad on his phone to look over what he had. Not that he had any notes that made sense to him.

According to his internet scraps, Alfred seemed to have appeared for the first time in 1778, as a soldier in the American Revolution. Both sides had stories of an Alfred Jones or an Alfred Kirkland, and both men had the same description and the same mischievous disposition. He appeared again in 1812, though that time he seemed to be more of a nuisance to the soldiers than anything. Alfred Frederick Jones appeared in the 1940s, writing a satirist column in the local paper of whatever town he appeared in. Much like his circus today, he simply appeared in various towns.

Gilbert closed the notes app somewhat aggressively, groaning lowly. Reading up on Alfred was enough to make his head spin. He didn't know what to believe, seeing as there was no way that Alfred Frederick Jones was the same Alfred that was running Bedlam. The Alfred of Bedlam looked barely twenty. It was much the same for the others. Finding their names was easy enough, but beyond that, it was insanity. He could write a rant on that alone. Bedlam's aerialists shared the same names as two missing Italian kids from the 1960s while the magician shared his name with an infamous pirate. Gilbert just groaned again, deciding to scroll to a game in an effort to relax.

It was official. Freelance writing made for little pay. The hotel Gilbert was staying at lacked a working elevator, and the one that did work swayed in its shaft. That left the blogger going up the stairs to the fourth floor upon arriving at his final stop. He looked at his phone again, surprised to see that it was only eleven-thirty. He had thought it would be later. Yawning softly, Gilbert pulled his key out and scanned it. He would normally stay up far later than the current time, but heading to bed seemed like the best idea right then. He sat on the bed, grabbing his laptop from his bag. He pulled up his saved draft, placing pictures where he said he would and typing up his final thoughts. "Ta-da." He mumbled dryly to the empty space around him. Gilbert closed the computer, placing it on the wobbly nightstand next to the dust-covered Bible before lying down to sleep.

Bolding, Pennsylvania; Shadow Ridge Apartments

Ludwig groaned softly, doing his best to ignore the call of his bed. It was still made from that morning, the sheets tucked in and the pillows fluffed. It would be so nice to lie on those pillows, he just knew it would. Of course, he couldn't lie down just yet. He had been staring at a bright white computer screen in a pitch black room for the last three hours. Almost a dozen tabs were open at the top the screen, each of them displaying what limited information there was about the circus and its performers. Ludwig rubbed at his blue eyes, stifling a yawn as he pushed escaped blonde strands back in their place. He paused to stare up at the dark ceiling, watching the ceiling fan spin as his eyes adjusted to the dark. He ran his large hands over his face, once again stifling a yawn. Finally, he let his bloodshot eyes zero back in on the screen, specifically the name of the circus.

Bedlam. The circus had truly chosen the perfect name for itself. Alfred and his troupe had raised Cain all over the Eastern United States and he was sure they'd soon make their way to the west. The Bureau had called him around nine pm. Their commands were simple. Do his research and pack his bags. He would receive a file upon arriving at whatever location they sent him to. He had a bad feeling about the upcoming mission if he were honest. Anything could happen, especially if Alfred was as crazed as the stories made him out to be.

Ludwig realized his mind had wandered far off from the task he was meant to be doing. Standing up, the German took his aching muscles and lack of focus as a cue to go to sleep. He had to clean up his mess first or it'd drive him crazy. Quietly putting his laptop in its bag and placing it next to the neatly packed suitcase, Ludwig went to brush his teeth and pack up his remaining toiletries. Ludwig said a quick prayer for Gilbert's safety as he got dressed for bed and after a few more minutes of prep, he climbed into bed.