I was walking in the hallway with my two best friends when I heard it. Francis would stop every ten steps to flirt with a girl who passed by and Toni would take the time to text his boyfriend, Lovino. It was annoying, and we were definitely going to be late for gym. I was no better though, I would take the chance to pick a fight with someone.

When Francis was turned down (yet again because of his pervyness), he would grab the back of my shirt and haul me forward so we would keep going. Toni would shove his phone back into his pocket and hum as he followed suit. It was a pattern for us. People parted in the hallway to let our awesomeness pass, since they knew us so well.

We were about to turn the corner into the hallway that had the gym at the far end when I heard it. The loudest slap I've ever heard at school. It silenced the noisy hallway, as it startled everyone. I moved forward, around the corner to stare into the nearly-empty hall that lay before me. I was surprised to see what I saw.

Elizabeta, a girl I've known nearly all my life, had crumpled to her knees in the center of the hallway. She held the side of her face, and I saw that the skin there was red. Lizzy looked near tears as she looked up at her attacker. It was her boyfriend, Roderich. I never, ever thought that the prissy, weak Roderich would do something as awful as hit a girl. But he did, and he looked mad.

Elizabeta was usually strong willed and brutal to anyone who would even try to do something like that to her, but she withered under Roderich's hateful gaze. She was shaking, trying to hold back the tears. I gritted my teeth, I had hated Roderich the entire time I knew him, but I had thought that he would treat Lizzy right.

"It's over, Elizabeta. I can't possibly fraternize with someone so..." Roderich searched for the word, "uncivilized." He growled and turned, he began walking in my direction, his expression now stoic, as if nothing had happened.

As he tried to pass me, I grabbed the front of his shirt and turned him around. He seemed shocked that I was touching him, but then he scowled. "Let go you fool."

I growled, but before I could beat the shit out of him, a teacher came out of their room and surveyed the scene. The teacher knelt next to Lizzy and asked her calmly who had hit her, and Lizzy pointed to Roderich with the hand that wasn't holding her face. The teacher nodded and sent him to the principal's office, then turned to me.

"Mr. Bielschmidt, since you inserted yourself into the situation, take Ms. Hedervary to the nurse."

"But I have-" I began.

"I will inform your gym teacher where you are. Now go." The teacher began walking towards the gym, and several other students, including the other two-thirds of my trio, walked after her.

I sighed and walked over to Lizzy, where I knelt beside her then took her hand. I helped the poor girl up and walked her to the nurse. The nurse wasn't there, but there was a note on the office's desk. It said that the nurse's mother was in the hospital for something serious, and she had to go check on her. She would be back as soon as she was sure of the situation.

I shook my head solemnly and sat Lizzy down on one of the stools. She was zoned out as she stared at the ground and looked completely miserable. I walked to the freezer and took out one of the ice cube trays, emptying some into a little plastic bag, then putting another bag over that one just in case it leaked. I held the ice out for her to take, but she just continued to stare at the floor.

I scowled at her and took her hand in mine. I pulled the small, soft hand away from her face, pushing the ice gently to her cheek. She looked up at me, and must have just realized what was going on because she took the ice from me and held it to her face on her own. She was blushing hard, for who knows what reason. Girls are always a mystery to me.

I smirked at her, "You impressed with my awesome first aid?"

"It's just ice, you fool." She muttered and squeezed the ice with her hand.

I laughed at her, which earned me a glare, and said, "Well, does my awesomeness at least earn a thank you?"

She sighed and nodded, "Thanks Gil, for getting me ice and...and for trying to stick up for me."

"Good, you're being more talkative." I sat on the end of one of the beds. "Why did that douche hit you anyway?"

"Shouldn't you be going now?" She asked, "I should really get on to my class too..." She muttered after and stood up.

I shook my head, as if she had said something stupid, and she had in my oppinion. I pulled her arm, sending her back onto the stool. "Why go? No one would come check on us since teachers never really come here, and I don't feel like playing dodgeball today. We could stay in here for a while, skip a few classes..." I grinned.

"But what if-" She started, but I cut her off.

"If someone comes, I'll tell them that I thought we should stay until the nurse got back to check on you. If that doesn't work, I'll tell them that I convinced you to stay because I wanted an excuse to skip class. Either way, you're the victim, and I'm the one who'll take the fall."

"Why are you being so nice today?" She asked in a hoarse voice.

"Hey! I'm always nice! But, if you must know, it's because no guy should ever hit a girl." I shrugged, slightly embarrassed that I was being a bit chivalrous.

Lizzy scowled, "But you've harrassed me since I've known you."

"But I've never once hit you. It's always pranks and stuff. Girls aren't punching bags."

"So you do have a moral code..." She said, looking at me like I had suddenly gotten a halo or something. The bell rang, meaning it was the end of that period. One more period until lunch.

"Shut up. I'm too awesome to hit girls, that's all." I said, and Lizzy giggled, then stopped abruptly and began to cry silently. I stood quickly, then knelt beside her. I grabbed her elbows as the tears glided down her cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

She began to wipe her tears, "S-sorry. It just...It just hit me that...that Roderich had slapped me and that we're done."

"Why did he even do something like that? I hadn't thought that that pussy would've done that."

"I-it's really my fault. He gave me his great-grandmother's necklace a few weeks ago. A few nights ago, at the bonfire on the beach I lost it. I had put it in my shoe before I had went out swimming, but it was gone when I came back."

"That's not really your fault, it was probably stolen by some unawesome jerk." I said.

She shook her head, "When he asked me why I wasn't wearing it today, I told him. He got really upset and I told him that I was sorry. He just kept yelling, because it was a family heirloom. So I told him that it wasn't even that pretty, and it was a stupid gift anyway. He flipped and hit me."

"It's not an excuse. What happened, happened, and you didn't lose it on purpose. You apologized too. That guy is such a dick." I growled and stood up.

She looked up at me, "But he really is a nice guy."

"Why stick up for him when he flipped out like that and hit you?" I asked.

"He was my boyfriend for two whole years, Gil. I loved him." Lizzy looked at me, so desperate to make me understand.

"I just don't get it!"

"You probably never will, since you've never been in love." She said agrily, upset that I couldn't grasp something that was so simple for her.

"Who says I haven't?" I retorted.

She laughed, "Well, you've never had a steady girlfriend. From what I hear, it's one night stands at parties and some meaningless dates."

I scowled at her, "I'm not in love with any of them." I sighed and laughed sadly, "She'd never want me anyway."

"Isten, Gil. Never knew you had feelings." Lizzy teased, to which I sent her a glare. The school bell rang, signalling lunch.

"Of course I have feelings, fool. I'm just too awesome to let people see them."

"I just think that if you showed this girl your feelings, she'd probably like you. You're calmer when you get like this, and you aren't spouting nearly as much of that foolishness about being 'awesome'."

"I don't think I'll be doing much of that, thank you." I said, turning to look out the window. It showed the courtyard which was now flooded with students as they walked to the cafeteria, or sat to eat at the few tables outside.

"Come on, if you just tell her how you feel-"

"I don't think I'm ever going to do that. Or take relationship advice from you, Lizzy." I muttered.

She glared at me, and I saw that she was sort of hurt by what I said. I sighed. "I'll go get us some lunch, okay? I'll be back." I said as I walked out of the nurses office. I tucked my hands into my pockets and walked across the courtyard, about halfway there I looked back, up to the window to the nurse's office. I saw Lizzy looking sadly down at me. I turned and kept walking, as if she didn't matter, as if I wasn't already hating myself for hurting her again.

As I walked into the cafeteria, I saw that Toni and Francis were already in line. I walked up to them, taking my place between them in line. It was customary for us, if one of us was late for lunch to do that. They grinned devilishly at me.

Francis chuckled and elbowed me in the arm playfully, "So, how'd it go with your princess? You show her that you're really her gallant knight, not Roderich?"

"Oh shut up." I muttered, my pale skin tinted pink for a moment. I hated when they teased me about Lizzy. I knew it wouldn't ever happen, but I loved her anyway.

"Don't tease him Francis! I may have my adorable Lovi, and you may have that cute new sophmore as a girlfriend, but Gil doesn't have anyone." My Spanish friend said.

I scowled at Toni for a moment, but he just started to text Lovino again, trying to bail himself out of the conversation. I turned to Francis. "You got a girlfriend in the two periods I was gone?"

"Yes, my dear Sey Sey is my newest love. She is absolutely gorgeous!" Francis smiled like a lovestruck idiot and crooned. That never happened with any of his other 'loves'.

"How'd that happen? I thought every girl in school now had a 'Francis Bullshit Radar'." I teased.

"Oh shush, you. Sey Sey is new, so she doesn't have one yet. I like her better than all of my past girlfriends combined." He stated proudly.

I gaped, "That's a lot, man. You've had-what-forty girlfriends in the past two years?"

He nodded, "She's just so beau. I hit on her in the hallway after gym, and we're together now. We have a date tomorrow night to see a movie."

I laughed, then realized that we were at the counter. Francis and Antonio ordered, and I ordered double. I bought the two lunches, then said goodbye to the guys as I walked back to the nurse's office. I sighed as I thought about what Francis had said about Lizzy.

She truly was a princess, even if she was a tomboy sometimes. She was beautiful and perfect in my eyes. Lizzy was the girl I had loved for years. I couldn't tell her that though, because she would never believe me, and she had just been kicked to the curb by her fucking boyfriend. I couldn't possibly be so shallow as to try to get her now.

When I got to the nurse's, I pushed the door open with my back and turned as I walked inside. Lizzy was curled up on one of the beds, looking sort of tired. I handed her a lunch tray and sat on the bed next to hers. She sat up straighter and began eating slowly. I finished before her, but she was close behind, and I sat the trays on the nurse's desk. The bell rang, it was time for classes to start up again.

She yawned, "If I'm going to skip the rest of classes, I'm going to take a nap for a while. If I sleep past the last bell, wake me. Okay?" I nodded in response, and she settled down on the bed and fell asleep. She looked like Sleeping Beauty, and instantly the thought of waking her up later with a kiss entered my mind. I shook it away. It was an unawesome thought.

I scooted back on the bed so that I was sitting where the pillow usually was, and my back was to the wall. I put the pillow in my lap. It had a white, annoyingly scratchy pillow case on. Settling my elbows into the pillow, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Francis. I knew that Antonio wouldn't respond, he was to occupied by Lovino's texts, but Francis still had half a chance of a reply.

_Lizzy fell asleep! WTF am i sposed 2 do?!_

A few moments later I got a response.

_Poor poor Gilly. dont do anything. she'll hate u for it_

_No shit!_

_Toni says u shuld kiss her awake like Sleeping Beauty_

I glared at the response. Why did Toni have to think the same stuff that I did? It was really tempting to kiss her. She looked practically angelic over there. Her lips so kissable and pink... DAMMIT! I shouldn't think about that. I shouldn't be staring at her lips. I shouldn't be licking mine. I shouldn't be seriously considering it. But I was. I was, and I was hating myself for it.

I forced myself to return my attention to my phone. I sent back another text.

_No._

It was simple. So incredibly simple to send it in a text. To say that I wasn't going to, to say that I didn't want to. But I knew that I wanted to kiss so her badly.

_Fine fine. how about you just fall asleep too? Toni and i will com by end of day to get u (and mayb princess?)_

_mayb. fine, ill sleep_

_goodnite sweet prince!_

I shoved my phone back in my pocket and settled down on the bed. I looked across the space at Lizzy's sleeping form. She looked so gentle and perfect. I watched her breathing, and matched it. Soon, I had fallen asleep. Dreamless sleep.

A couple hours later, I was startled back into consciousness by the clattering of a door being pushed open. I sat up in the bed and scratched the back of my head, I stared at my two friends who were smiling hugely and holding my backpack, and another bag that wasn't theirs. I looked over at Lizzy, who was sitting up as well, she looked like she had just been woken too.

"We took the liberty of-ahem-liberating your school bags from your lockers on the way here." Antonio said.

"So you broke into my locker?" Lizzy said shrilly.

"Mon ami, we merely...well actually, yes. We did break into your locker. Looks like Roderich cleared out all of the stuff he gave you already." Francis said bluntly.

Lizzy wilted, "Already?"

The two of them nodded, but Antonio spoke next. "All he left was your school books and your diary. Which, by the way, we couldn't break the lock to. It was more difficult than your locker, probably because it was smaller, and our tools couldn't fit."

"You tried to break into my diary?!" Lizzy stood up quickly and advanced on them, ready to smack them.

"We couldn't get into it though!" Francis cried out.

I stood up quickly and grabbed Lizzy's wrist before she could cause any damage. I swung her around so that she was facing me. "No harm done, right? The lock on your locker isn't broken, they're too skilled to break locks now, and they didn't read it. It wouldn't be awesome to hurt them...today."

She stared at me, surprised by my proximity. I was too, truthfully, because I was mere inches away from her. "Fine." She glared at the ground, "but they can never break into my locker again. Swear?" Lizzy turned from me, to the two of them. They nodded, afraid for themselves. "Good. Now give me my bag so I can go home." She held her hand out, and Francis handed the bag over.

She slung the bag over her shoulder and walked a few steps out of the nurse's office, then turned around to face the three of us. "I'll see you three tomorrow, okay? Thanks again for helping me Gil." She turned away and ran down the steps and through the courtyard, heading for the school gates.

Antonio handed me my back pack and I slung it over my shoulder as we all three walked to the gates. "So, Gilbert. Nothing happened at all? You two were alone for hours!" Francis whined.

"Shut up. Of course nothing happened." I muttered, wanting to steer away from this conversation.

That usual mess went along for a while, until I had to spilt from the two of them. I jogged down the street and turned left, then walked a bit more until I turned up the path to my door. I had forgotten my key again, so I knocked. My little bro Ludwig opened it, he let me in. As I passed through the living room, to head up the stairs, I saw that Lovino's brother Feli was sitting on the couch.

I shook my head, knowing that my brother was probably too dense to see that he loved Feli, and that Feli loved him. I shook my head in the same way that Francis and Toni shake their heads whenever I'm a bit obvious about my love for Lizzy, and she doesn't notice. It was a never-ending thing.

I opened my door and closed it behind me, locking it. I dumped my bag on the floor by the door and dug out my iPod and earphones, selecting "Dead!" by My Chemical Romance and turning it all the way up. I wanted something to tune out my day. I spent the rest of my night up in my room, ignoring my brother's calls for dinner. Actually, I ended up staying up all night just listening to my iPod and staring at the wall.

Eventually, my iPod fell quiet and I noticed it was morning. I stood up and tromped downstairs, exhausted now. I felt a bit warmer than usual, and every few minutes I'd have to sniff or sneeze or something. My brother told me I should stay home, but I told him that a cold wouldn't defeat the awesome me, and dashed out the door with a piece of toast in my mouth and my backpack in my hand. I put the bag on my back and ran to where I met up with the other parts of the trio every morning.

They were waiting for me today, I must've been late since they seemed a bit annoyed. I saw that Antonio checked a text, then looked me up and down. He whispered to Francis and he did the same once over. Antonio sent a text back and turned to me.

"You sick, amigo?" He asked, concern practically dripping from his voice.

"Nah." I sneezed directly after I said it though, so I don't think I convinced them.

Francis nodded seriously, then grinned. "Well, anyway, mon cher Sey Sey is going to eat with us at lunch. You can meet her today, Gil."

"I wish Lovi could eat with us..." Toni pouted.

"That's what comes with dating someone with a different lunch period." Francis responded as we passed through the school gates.

We separated and went to our lockers, I shoved my school bag inside and grabbed a pencil from the bottom. I pushed the pencil into my pocket and slammed the door shut, turning away from the locker to go to Calculus. I got in trouble for forgetting my books, like I do every day. As the class went on, it was more and more troubling to stay awake.

I felt awful, I guess the cold was more trouble than I thought it would be. When Calculus was over, I headed to World History. It was the only class I had with Lizzy this year, and it was manditory. When I reached the class, late as always, the teacher stopped me. She looked me up and down. I coughed pretty hard and everything felt dizzy for a moment.

She shook her head and looked over at Lizzy. "Ms. Hedervary, can you take Mr. Bielschmidt to the nurse? If she's not there, then make this sick fool lay down and stay with him until she comes back. See me later and I'll give you the notes you missed."

Lizzy nodded, stood, and took my wrist as she led me to the nurse's office. the nurse was there, but looked like she was about to leave. Lizzy informed her of the situation, and the nurse wrote a quick list of things for her to do, then left. I was forced to sit down on one of the beds as Liz went looking for the thermometer. After a few moments of searching the various metal drawers, she produced one and ran it across my forehead.

After seeing the read out, Lizzy made me lay down. "You have a high fever," she stated.

I was already drifting off to sleep as she said that. Before I passed out, I saw an extreme amount of concern in her eyes. I dreamt that I was going out with Lizzy, but halfway through the dream Roderich burst through the wall and killed her. I woke up soon after and looked around.

Lizzy was sitting in the nurse's office chair fiddling with the computer, but she turned around to look at me when she heard me sit up. "I got you a soda and some chips for lunch, since I wasn't sure when you would wake up. It's been four periods since we got here, by the way."

"Thanks." I stood up and grabbed the bag, opening it and eating several. I gulped back the soda pretty quickly. When I was done with it all, I threw it in the trash can that sat next to the desk. "I'm fine now though."

She looked me up and down, and I broke back into coughs again, which didn't help my case. "You aren't fine Gil. Why do you have to act so tough all the time, you're obviously sick."

"I'm too awesome to be sick." I muttered.

"You aren't awesome." She glared at me, "You haven't even told the girl you're pining after that you love her. That's totally unawesome."

"Low blow, Liz." I said angrily, clenching my fists.

"I'm just sick of all this awesome nonsense. I doubt she likes it either, whoever she is."

I gritted my teeth and glared at her. I love her so much, but she can really piss me off sometimes.

"Who is this girl anyway? Is she even real?" She teased.

"Shut up. Why should you care anyway?" I muttered.

"Because I can't imagine you actually caring about anyone but yourself! You can't even care for yourself properly!"

"Then don't believe me." I said simply and sat back on the bed.

Suddenly, Francis and Antonio walked in. Toni was escorting Francis, who was clutching his stomach and looking like he was in serious pain, until the door closed behind them that is. As soon as the door was closed and they saw that it was just us, Francis straightened up and looked completely fine. They were carrying both of their school bags and mine too.

"What are you two doing here?" Lizzy asked suspiciously.

"Toni said we should skip the rest of the day. Since we heard you hadn't come back from here, dear Elizabeta, we figured the nurse wasn't here. I used my amazing acting skills to pretend to be sick, and it worked magnificently. Toni here was my escort." Francis finished with a wave of his hand towards Toni, and a smile.

Toni turned to me and ruffled my hair, which earned him an annoyed glared. "You should've listened to your hermano, Ludwig. He told you to stay home."

"How do you-?" I began.

"Little Ludwig texted Toni this morning, telling us to take care of you." Francis answered.

"See! Your little brother and your friends have to care for you." Lizzy said.

I glared at her, "Will you shut up about that?"

"Oh? Is this a lover's quarrel?" Francis asked, Toni laughed and sat down on one of the stools.

"Shut up you French bastard!" Lizzy said the same time as I yelled, "Don't you ever know when to shut up?"

"You two need to calm down, it was just a joke." Francis said, a bit deflated though.

"Although you would be a great couple." Antonio chimed in. Lizzy and I were left speechless, unsure how to respond to that. I laid back on the bed and sighed as Lizzy spun in her chair.

Francis, reading our reactions began again. "You really would." He knew about my crush, and now he was pushing it. Just great.

"Mmhm. You two should go out sometime." Antonio said, which caused both of us to blush.

"How about as soon as little Gilly gets better?" Francis offered.

"I don't-" Lizzy started.

"It won't mean anything. Just go to a movie or something. You two have been to tons of movies together." Antonio insisted.

"But that's when other people have been around." I said, although I wasn't really apposed to the idea.

"You don't really talk during movies anyway, so what's it matter?" Antonio responded.

"How about this, Toni and I will pay for it all. If you don't like it, then you can tell everyone that it was just a friends thing." Francis said.

"I'll do it for a free movie," I said.

"Fine, I'll do it too. It's just a movie." Lizzy relented. It made my heart soar and I'm pretty sure I held back my grin.

"Bien! You two should go see that slasher movie, I hear it's really scary." Antonio said.

"We'll give you guys a hundred bucks to spend however you want." Francis decided.

"Okay, so we're seeing a slasher movie with a hundred dollars. When are we going?" Lizzy said as she looked at me.

"I'll call you when I'm better." I said.

"Great! Now that that's decided-" The final bell wringing cut Francis off.

Lizzy sprang up from her seat and waved, "Seeya! I've got to go get my stuff." Lizzy dashed from the office.

Toni handed over my bag and we all walked out. "I think we deserve a thank you, Gil." Francis said in a sing-song voice as soon as we were well away from the school.

"Thanks guys, for getting me a date." I said.

"You are very welcome, my good man. Now get better so you can actually have it." They waved to me as we split up. I walked slowly back to the house, and once again I had forgotten my key. Ludwig let me in and instantly told me to lay down upstairs. I obliged, and a few hours later I was brung food.

I slept well that night, and when I woke up the next morning my fever and the rest of my symptoms were gone. My alarm clock wasn't blaring in my ears, so I knew it was the weekend. My hand reached out to my nightstand to find my phone, and I hit my speed dial for Francis.

"Bonjour, mon ami Gilbert! What do you need from me today?"

"I'm better now, do you guys have the money?" I asked quickly, sort of excited.

"Oh hon hon~ You want your date with the beau Elizabeta? I'll be right over with Toni and the money! Call your date!" I heard more perverted laughter before he hung up the phone. As soon as he was off the line I called Lizzy up, she picked up on the third ring.

"Hello? Gil?"

"Hey! What's up?"

"Not much, now that I don't have a boyfriend. You sound better, by the way."

"I'm all better now. I'm feeling pretty damn awesome."

I heard a laugh through the phone that made me grin. "If I were there, I'd hit you for saying you were awesome again. Wait-does that mean you're ready to go on that 'date'?" She sounded a tad excited, which made my heart swell. Damn...all these feelings are so unawesome, but they make me feel awesome.

"Yup. I'm getting the money from Francis and Toni soon. Do ya' wanna go today, Liz?"

"Sure, pick me up whenever. Do you have a car?"

"Yeah, I do. Got it new a month ago, but I don't have a permit to park at school."

"Cool! Can't wait, okay? I've got to go, okay?" She sounded actually pretty happy that she was going, which made me extremely happy.

"Seeya Lizzy!" We both hung up, and at that moment I heard a knock on the front door.

I hopped up from bed and ran downstairs. I was shirtless, but was wearing a pair of black running shorts over my boxers. As I opened the door, I saw that my two friends looked slightly bedraggled, but extremely eager to come in and see me. They pushed past me, and up into my room, leaving me back at the door. I smiled and slammed it closed as I ran up after them.

"Okay, we've got to get you ready amigo! Ready for la bonita Elizabeta!" Antonio said, clapping his hands together as he finishes speaking.

Francis was already raiding my closet, he threw a red shirt and a pair of black jeans onto the bed, then a few minutes laters a black hoodie. He searced the bottom of my closet and produced a pair of red Chuck Taylor's. "I know it's a lot of red and black, but those colors really suit you. It's all in your eyes." Francis said quickly, waving his hands at me.

"What are you, my stylist?" I said with irritation.

"Yes actually, mon ami. Now go shower! I will not let you stink when you're going to go out with Elizabeta!" Francis yelled, he was really into this now. How annoying.

I quickly left the room before Antonio could start yelling. I jumped into the shower and washed myself down. After I got out I dried myself off thoroughly and put on a touch of cologne. I put on a pair of boxers and walked back to my room, which was now partially cleaned, and partially gutted of clothes and other assorted stuff. Francis and Antonio were rushing around the room cleaning, they didn't even seem to see me.

As soon as I pulled the clothes on, they looked me up and down. "You look muy guapo, amigo!" Antonio exclaimed, dropping some books to pat my back.

"Why are you guys cleaning my room? Not that I mind or anything...it was a bit dirty." I said.

"A bit? Your room is a damn pig sty! We're cleaning, just in case you come back here with your princess." Francis said.

I looked at him suspiciously, "Why would I bring Lizzy back here?"

Francis laughed, "Oh hon hon! Innocent Gil! Can't you see I'm trying to get you laid by the girl you love?"

I glared. "Not like I'm a virgin, douche."

"I know! But you love beau miss Hedervary." He smirked all smugly.

"Yeah, and it's only one date." I said obstinately.

"One thing leads to another, amigo~" Toni said in a sing-song voice.

"Whatever. Do what you want." I muttered and sat on my newly-made bed.

They worked around me for a while until it was completely clean. I hadn't seen it this clean in ages. Francis and Toni handed the money over and left, after telling me that they expected a detailed summary of the date later. After they had been gone for a while, I knocked on the door to my brother's room. He opened it a few seconds later.

"Yes, bruder?" He said.

"I'm gonna be on a date for a while, okay?" I smiled, and he nodded.

"Okay, Feli's coming over later."'

"That kid always comes over."

"Just thought you should know, Gilbert."

"Seeya, Ludwig!" I called as I turned away and tromped down the stairs. I walked into the attatched garage and hit the button on the wall for the door to roll up. Grabbing the keys from the hook, I hopped into the car and turned the ignition. I pulled out of the drive way and drove the few blocks over to Lizzy's house.

I hopped out and jogged lightly to her door, ringing the doorbell and obnoxious amount of times so she'd know it was me. About a minute later the door swung inward and revealed a smiling Elizabeta. She was glowing, beaming at me like I was her favorite person. That did NOT happen.

"Hey! Movie time?"

"Yeah, you ready?" I asked, smiling back.

"I've got to change really quickly, okay? Wait in the den for me." She let me in and went upstairs as I wandered into the designated room. I had explored her house with her a million times when we were young, but it had been years since I had even been inside. I smiled as I looked around at the photos on the walls, pictures of places we'd gone on class trips, of me an her as toddlers, of her and other family members.

I didn't think that she had needed to change. She had been wearing a cute, green dress that cut off mid-thigh. It worked for her, making her look more than awesome. Lizzy was always suprising me though, so I wondered what she would put on for our date. My questions were answered when she came down the stairs quickly and walked to the den, stopping in front of me.

Her long light brown hair was adorned with a pink pair of flowers. Her bangs were fluffed up so they fell right on her eyebrows. She wore a strapless, flowy, dark pink dress that bordered on becoming red, and it only covered half her thigh. Lizzy had a pair of brown leggings that came to her knees under that. A tannish-white scarf was drapped around her neck, and it matched a pair of pearl earings that she was wearing.

I was gaping at the beauty in front of me, "You look awesome, Lizzy."

"Thank you, Gil. Hearing you call me 'awesome' isn't something I hear often." She smiled and chuckled. It was infectious, because I was soon smiling along with her.

"Ready to go now?" I asked again.

"Sure, lets go." She took my hand and led me out the front door, locking it behind us. When she saw my car, she gaped. "Y-you have a red convertible?"

"Doesn't it look awesome? Took me forever to save up for it. Kesesesesesese..." I chuckled.

"It looks amazing." She smiled and walked quickly over to it, hopping over the door and into the passenger seat. Lizzy smiled again as she buckled her seat belt. "You're pretty cool, sometimes."

"Thanks, Liz." I laughed and hopped into the driver's seat, starting the car and driving down the road. We drove out of the suburbs and into the larger city, toward the theatre. I parked in a lot and helped Liz out of my car. She smiled at me and took a hold of my arm.

"It's crowded here, just so I won't get lost." She muttered, clutching my arm tightly.

I nodded, pressing forward so we could get down the street to the movie theatre. We stepped into the slightly less crowded lobby and the smell of buttered popcorn hit us like a wall. The scuffed, stained red-ish carpet, the royal purple walls, the dim lighting, the electronic sound of the video games in the corner... It was all so familar, but also alien. I hadn't been to the movies with Lizzy in ages, and never on a date.

She pointed to the shortening ticket line, which we hopped in. After a minute or two, we were at the front. A very short, brown haired freshman was behind the counter. It was that Latvian kid, the one that always hung out with his brothers, although they were extremely different and always shook like a leaf. He smiled slightly at us.

"W-w-welcome to W-world C-cinema." He was stuttering worse than usual today. I guess because Natalia and Ivan were a few places behind us in line, and they were terrifying. Ivan was always being dragged places by his creepy little sister, it was a borderline incestuous relationship, but of course it was one-sided.

"We'll see that one, thank you." Lizzy said and pointed to a poster of a horror movie, for some reason it didn't have a name on it. No one knew the name of the movie, much less what it was about, but everyone who saw it came out of the theatre shaking. The Latvian boy, who is so not awesome enough for me to know his name, handed us our tickets and we stepped out of line.

"Wait by the-" I began.

She smiled and interrupted me, "The Pac Man machine? I know, Gil. I used to have to wait there when we were younger, because you had to be such a big kid and get the snacks. I want a medium drink and some candy, I'll share the popcorn." She walked away to the game machine and leaned against the side.

I walked to the short snack line, and was at the front soon. Feliks was leaning on the counter, texting with his pink cellphone. It was decorated with pony stickers. When I approached, he looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Gil. You can't possible be here alone. Who're you with?"

"Feliks!" Toris, that Latvian kid's adopted older brother and Felik's boyfriend, shouted. He was standing a few yards away behind the counter, fuming. "Stop gossiping and get to work!"

"Oh shut up, babe. I'm just curious. Besides, you'll get him his stuff while I get the info, right?" Feliks asked. It was a stupid question, because of course he would. Toris was always doing everything for him. I gave the Lithuanian the list of stuff, and he got to work. "So?" Feliks prodded.

"I have a date, man." I said, a smirk played at my face.

"With who? I haven't heard anything! Why didn't I hear anything?" Feliks was the gossip at school, and it was extremely hard to keep things from him. I was surprised we had kept it under raps for the day that we had.

"It's with Liz. It probably won't be anything, so don't spread it yet dude."

He looked all aflutter when I said that. "Oh my gawsh! You and Elizabeta? That is like- sooooooo fabulous! I always thought you two would make a good couple."

Toris came back with the stuff, and I took it all. Feliks quickly spilled to Toris, and they started chatting about the possible relationship while I walked back to where Lizzy was. A couple of guys were standing by her, and it looked like the company wasn't quite appreciated. Not awesome. I didn't know whether to intervene or not, since Liz was always saying that she could do things herself, and hated it when I did get involved sometimes.

"So, ya' here with someone?" One of them asked, moving a bit closer.

She spun around and took the drinks from me, "Yes, I'm here with Gil."

I didn't know them, but it looked like they knew me. I was known in the 100 mile radius for being the most bad-ass fighter. But they didn't know about Lizzy's pan attack, and she didn't have it with her, so she couldn't use it anyway. They looked slightly scared, but spoke a moment later.

"He looks like just a friend, no way this douch coulda snagged you. C'mon baby, hang out with us." The other said.

I scowled, those idiots. Who even gets girls like that? Not awesome. Liz just smiled politely smiled at them, then spun around to me again and leaned up. She planted a kiss on my lips before I knew what was going on, and I heard a small snap of a camera over by the snack bar. I guess Feliks got the perfect picture oppurtunity. The two guys stalked off, and Liz looked up at me apologetically.

"Sorry, I just needed to get them away. It didn't mean anything." That deflated me, but I was glad that I had at least gotten one kiss.

"Feliks got a picture of that, you know." I said, jerking my head over to where he was fanboying over it behind the counter. Her jaw dropped.

"Well, later I'll have to make sure that picture isn't leaked." I could guess what she was going to do, because of her tone, but I'd rather not say.

After that, we had went into the movie and saw the film. It was awesome. Probably the best horror movie I'd ever seen. I had put my arm around Liz's shoulders, because she kept jumping and squeaking a bit whenever something scary happened. It was cute to say the least. We had left, and Liz had made absolutely sure that neither Feliks or Toris would leak the picture, or info.

I drove her home and walked her to the door, before going inside she turned to me. "It was fun Gil. I'm glad I could go on a simple date with a friend that didn't mean anything." She smiled and kissed my cheek. "Good night Gil." She turned and went inside, closing the door behind her. I went to my car, then home.

When I came in, I heard Francis and Toni in my room. I walked inside my room and sat in my desk chair, they stared at me expectantly. I told them everything, to which they both groaned.

"Daaaaamn...that sucks! It went well, but you were friendzoned!" Francis exclaimed.

I nodded as thed two of them whined about it. I was numb, to tell the truth. I had had fun, a lot of fun. It was a good movie, and I spent time with Liz, I had gotten a kiss on the cheek, and lips. It was all great. But, they were right. I was friendzoned, and I had played the perfect part, not getting upset or anything. I had acted like it didn't matter at all to me. But it did. I was still so in love with her.

That had all happened a semester earlier. Right now, I was sitting on my bed in my room. I was late to school, and truthfully I didn't care. Ludwig had already left, but I couldn't leave that spot. I was frozen by grief, it had begun when I had gotten a text this morning. It had been from Liz, we had been in contact more since her break up, but no more dates.

_gil! dont freek out, k? roderich and i got bak 2gether! super happy! :D_

I had responded, after a few minutes of doing what she had said not to. It hurt that she was going back to that complete asshole, but I couldn't protest without her teasing me, or finding out.

_y wud i freek out? i just hate that asshole is all_

She responded almost instantly with something that had put me in this frozen state.

_cuz roderich said that he dusnt want me tlking 2 other guys. so i cant tlk or txt u nemor. bye gil!_

I couldn't believe that she would throw out our friendship for that unattentive asshole! That fucking prick! I hate him so much! I couldn't do anything though, I knew she had probably already deleted my number from her phone, along with the rest of the guys she knew. She was always that devoted to him, and it pissed me off. Why couldn't she see how awesome I was?

I had gotten the text an hour before then, and I had been just ready to go then. But now I was immobilized. I loved her, but I had always been just a friend. I had been her very best friend, no matter what, no matter who got in the way. But now, just because Roderich said so, she had dumped me as a friend. Rage filled me and I threw my phone against the wall, but it didn't break. I groaned as I buried my face in my hands, anguish coursed through me.

I heard the phone ring downstairs, so I got up and trodded down them to answer. "Is this the Bielschmidt residence?" It was the school secratary. She knew me since I was always being sent to the principal's office.

"Yeah," I said simply.

"Now Gilbert, why aren't you in school. You may be late a lot, and you hardly ever skip school, you just skip certain classes."

"I can't go today, not feeling well." I said quickly, the lie slipping through my teeth.

"You sound fine." She said skeptically.

"I assure you, I'm not in any state to be in school today. I'll be there tomorrow, I promise." I said in a strained voice. I didn't feel much like talking about this with her.

"I can send your two friends to your house for lunch with a note from the school, if you'd like." She said, I guess she pitied me since Ludwig's and my own grandfather, our only known relative, had died a few years ago. We had been allowed to stay without a guardian as long as we came to school every day.

"If they can be spared, sure," I said.

She sighed and muttered, "What are we going to do with you, Gilbert?"

Before hanging up I whispered, "That's what I was wondering."

After the phone call, I walked to the kitchen and pushed the table a few feet to the left. Under it was a loose floor board that was my secret hiding place since we had moved here. I only opened it when no one else was around. The only person who I had ever told was Lizzy, and that was when we were seven, so she probably forgot. In the compartment was a few cases of beer.

Social Services searched the house every month to make sure we didn't have any drugs or alcohol. They brought drug sniffing dogs and searched. The dogs didn't smell the beer though, and Ludwig and I didn't do any drugs. It was a good thing I had going since I had a few contacts to get me beer, or whatever else I wanted, whenever I wanted.

I hauled up a six pack and drank them all down quickly, and they were cold since they were closer to the basement. I had a buzz, and that was good for now. I left the trash in the kitchen, but covered my hiding spot before I headed to the living room and sat down in front of the tv. I channel surfed for a few hourse before I head the obnoxiously loud knocking. My friends were here.

I flung open the front door, revealing Francis and Toni looking quite pissed. "What the hell, amigo? You skipping without us?" Antonio said. He looked pretty annoyed, which was funny for him.

They pushed in, and walked to the kitchen. Francis stopped as soon as he passed the kitchen's threshold though. He knew the rules that Social Services had given us, he knew about the searches. "You drank a six pack? It's only half past noon, Gil. Where'd you even keep that?"

I sat at one of the chairs and looked at them tiredly, "Yeah, I did. I know that. And, I've had it for a while."

They sat in some of the other chairs and stared at me. "What the fuck is wrong Gil, you look awful. We figured you were just sick, or something. But you're obviously fine, health-wise." Francis said.

I stood silently, leaving them in the kitchen, and walked up the stairs. I retrieved my phone from my room and came back. I handed the phone to Toni and muttered. "Read the last coupl'a messages from Lizzy."

After they had read them, they looked up at me. "I woke up fully meaning to go to school, but I just can't now. I can't...I can't actually do it right now. I'll be fine with it tomorrow." I put my head on the table, covering my face with my arms.

They both shook with anger, angry at everything and everyone, just like I had been. "Why is she even-?" Toni started.

"Cuz she loves him." I said sadly.

"How can he even-?" Francis began.

"Cuz he's the perfect fucking gentleman, except for that one time. That time doesn't mean anything to her. Neither does our date. Or friendship. Or anything about me." I said quietly.

We were all silent. They had tried to get me together with Liz for years, so they were pretty invested in this too. They could at least share some of my pain. I stood up, so so did they. I pushed the table aside and pulled up my secret spot. They stared at it, amazed, as I pulled out two more six packs. I divided it up to four beers each and we all began drinking again. After a while, we got more from the space, and eventually we had drained every single drop of beer I had.

We were all drunk, so drunk that we couldn't go back to school. I guess we had passed out, because the next thing I remember, was Ludwig shaking me awake in the middle of the afternoon. He seemed really shocked. "Gilbert! Wh- Have you been drinking?"

"Sure 'ave..." I slurred looking around for the other part of the trio, my two friends were sprawled on the other couch and chair.

"Will I have to clean it up?" He asked.

"Prolly...'m not feeling two well." I slurred again, falling back into the chair. My brother sighed and shook his head.

"Go back to sleep Gil, I'll wake you up tomorrow for school."

"'ll be hung overrrrrr." I muttered.

"You'll have to deal with it." He said strictly.

I sighed and fell back into sleep. He shook me awake again the next morning. My mouth was desert dry and my head felt like it had spent a week in a blender on high. Ludwig was waking up Toni and Francis too, we took our turns showering, and they borrowed some of my clothes. We all piled out the door and walked to school. On the way in the gates I saw Lizzy and her bastard boyfriend.

I saw her glance at me, and I looked away. I saw her look like she was going to cry out of the corner of my eye. By the time I had made it into my first class, I felt like dying. The noise and movement of school was too much for my hung over head. I kept my head down all day and so did Francis and Toni.

As I was about to pass the douche Roderich in the hall, I saw him turn to me. "Are you hung over, Gilbert?" When people heard that, they turned to watch. I guess everyone else didn't really care if I decided to put my head down in class. I was known to fall asleep in most classes anyway.

I looked at him tiredly, despite how much I slept yesterday. "Why are you talking to me?" I asked impatiently.

"I'm just worried for the rest of the school if someone like you has the nerve, or foolishness to disrupt our learning by being hung over." He spat.

I laughed, that sounded like the biggest pile of bullshit ever, but I winced and held my head a minute later. "Sorry I'm 'disrupting' your 'learning' then."

"So you admit it?" He asked, surprised.

"Sure. It's pretty damn obvious anyway. I would'a thought ev'ryone would know by now." I said loudly, holding one of my temples. I was glad that all teachers were in their classrooms, so they didn't hear that. The noise of the school was driving me up a wall. It was too much for me, it was making me beyond angry, even more than Roderich was.

"You, Gilbert, are-" He began, but Elizabeta walked up to him and put a finger over his lips.

"My dear Roderich, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. I know what you are capable of. I know what you aren't. So when I say that you should stop there, heed my warning." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Why?" He asked stupidly.

"Because, unlike you, I know what Gil is like when he gets really mad. You haven't hit that yet, Roderich. I'd rather not visit you in the hospital." She said this harshly, and the whole hallway was silenced. I had been in fights where I had seemed angry, but I was really just annoyed. I had a short fuse, but I was holding it all in today.

"Gilbert is a mere brute. A child. An idiot. A nothing. Mere trash." He said, spitting out each insult. "And you, Elizabeta, are a fool for stopping me from speaking my mind on this." He gestured to me.

While I could've probably held out a bit longer on him insulting me, I couldn't if he was insulting Liz. I pushed her aside, so she was moved a few feet away, and grabbed the front of his shirt. I could no longer stop myself, I pushed Roderich into the lockers, keeping my hold on him, his head banged loudly against the metal. Soon I was beating the living shit out of him, some of his blood was on the floor and walls, and I guess I had broken some ribs and definitely I had broken his hand and leg. His clothes were a mess and so was his hair and glasses.

It took two teachers to pry me off of him, and after we had been separated I screamed obscenities in German at him. The coach of the football team had carried Roderich off to the nurse, and I was still being pinned to the ground because I wanted so badly to get up and kill him. I was still fighting with all my might, and no one would dare look me in my eyes. I've seen the reflection of my red eyes when I get truly angry, and it's more terrifying than the horror movie I saw with Lizzy.

I had glimpsed Lizzy's retreating figure as she had followed the coach to the nurse's office, but now she was back. She was sitting remarkably close to where I was still fighting to break free. The teachers were yelling at everyone to get back and go to class, but she sat on the floor several feet away. Liz caught one of my flailing hands and took it in hers, instantly I lessened my fighting. The teachers eased up a bit and looked at her curiously.

"Remember the first time you got really mad. We were seven and I had been teasing you. You ended up going on a rampage and you broke Ludwig's arm because he happened to be hit by that chair." She said softly, her grip on my hand tightened. "I was so scared of you that I refused to play with you for a month after, even though you were beyond sorry."

I nodded up at her mutely, my head's pounding lessened as she spoke. I was completely still then, and the two teachers let me sit up and lean against the wall, standing a few feet farther away than Liz did.

"Then, the second time, we were ten. You had taken anger management, and therapy and all that. What set you off that time was much worse. Your grandfather had just died, and one of the neighbors had said 'good riddance' since she was evil to anyone. You had kept it bottled up for a week, and then you broke when I had playfully teased you. You busted holes all throughout your house. I wouldn't talk to you for two months, no matter how grief stricken and sorry you were."

I nodded again, everything else than her voice was white noise to me. I was focused on her. She was holding my hand to her cheek, letting me cup her face. It was so tender, perfect. But I was worried about what she was going to say.

"The third time was when we were fourteen. I had just told you that I was going out with Roderich. You had hated him all our lives, and you made that obvious. I went out with him anyway. You got so so sooooo mad, the worst of the three, and this time it was you who didn't want to talk to me. You hated him more than you wanted to be my friend, and I loved him more than you. We didn't speak for half a year."

She was now gripping my fingers like I'd pull away. I wouldn't though, never. I was too absorbed into what she was saying. It was all a conversation I did and didn't want to hear.

"The final one is now, and I'm not completely sure why you snapped when you did." She put her forehead on my shoulder and hugged me, although we were still sitting cross-legged on the tile floor. "Why did you snap then? It was just a few seconds late of when you should've."

I stared at her and answered, "He insulted YOU."

"So?"

"Every time I get mad, it's because of you. You have an effect on me. I can't keep it in when you're near."

"So it's my fault? D-do you not want to speak to me? Is that why you were drinking after I told you that I wasn't going to speak to you? To celebrate?"

"No, I was drinking because I was really really really really upset."

"You couldn't've been that upset Gil..."

"If Francis and Toni hadn't been around, I would've ended up hanging by a belt in my closet." I said seriously, making sure she understood.

"Why? Why would you-"

"I love you. You must have noticed!" I exclaimed.

"You...love me?" She asked, to which I nodded, watching her expression. She threw her arms around me and buried her face in the crook of my neck. My body felt warm all over when I did that, and I wrapped my arms around hr thin body. "I broke up with Roderich just now, I shouldn't have gotten back together with him."

"No, you really shouldn't have. That unawesome prick..." I mumbled, I felt her lips curve into a smile against my neck.

"So, since I'm free...if you ask me out, I'll probably say yes."

"Lizzy, will you go out with me?" I asked instantly after.

She pulled away and looked me over with a small smile, "Hmmm..."

"C'mon, don't tease me." I said as I scowled at her.

"Sure, Gil, as soon as the school sorts out your punishment for fighting again." She giggled and planted a kiss on my cheek.

I smirked at her, "Your totally into my awesomeness."

"Sure, if that's what you want to think." She said and rolled her eyes.

One of the teachers knelt down next to where we were sitting and looked at my hands. They were beaten and battered. Little known fact aboout fighting: It fucks up your hands when you punch someone hard and repeatedly. The teacher sighed and turned to Lizzy, "Take him to get it bandaged."

We both looked at each other and grinned. We were going back to where this little romance adventure began. The Nurse's Office.

((Like, Tah Dah! You guys like? Took me a while to finish this. Me, being the Fresh Meat that I am in the society known as high school, am completely exhausted after the tiny bit of school that I've experienced so far. I'm all achey and junk because of my gym class (because I'm usually the kid that sits inside and writes this stuff). Anyway, please review and all that.))