There is a classic story, one that everybody knows. It's a tale as old as time, true as it can be. Beauty and the Beast. How many people would see a creature that could only be classified as a beast and fall in love? One. That is the beauty of the story; the fact that it could only happen to the two of them. Only that one girl could have really, truly fallen in love with a monster like that.

The story is all about going past what is skin deep to be able to see people for what they are, not what they look like. Beauty is only skin deep and even beauty can be misleading, hiding a monster underneath. This story can link to society easily, considering how quickly people fall into lust just by glancing at a person. Love is a lot harder to come by than lust.

But we learn from this story that the skin deep does not matter and that we should care about everyone, no matter how much of a beast they seem to be. We are all beautiful, no matter what is on the outside.

And that is bullshit.

Lovino sighed, glancing down at the stupid assignment he had gotten in English class. He wrote it last night in a matter of minutes. The assignment was to pick a Disney fairytale and describe it, explain how it relates to society, and write their opinions on it.

There was no doubt that Lovino would get in trouble for cursing in a paper he had to turn in, but it was his honest opinion. It was a stupid, old fashioned story. And the easiest one to do at the last minute.

"Lovi! Are you ready for school?" Lovino's brother, Feliciano, poked his head into Lovino's room.

"As I'll ever be," Lovino sighed, standing up from his desk after shoving the stupid paper into his backpack.

"I'm really excited for the English assignment today," Feliciano hummed happily.

Lovino just rolled his eyes. They were twins and, as the cliché goes, they were complete opposites. Lovino had brown hair with a slight red tint to it with a curl going out to the side he never tried to get control of and light brown eyes. Feliciano had reddish-brown hair with a curl himself on the other side and the same brown eyes. They were both Italian and proud of it. Lovino was usually rather harsh and standoffish towards others and was usually an outcast, preferring to sit in a library than talk with others. Feliciano, on the other hand, had a happy, bubbly personality and many friends that he would constantly be talking to.

"I did mine on the Little Mermaid," Feliciano chimed as Lovino followed him through their apartment. They lived alone and Lovino had to work part time in order for them to afford the majority of what they needed. Feliciano would do a few odd jobs and babysitting to other people in their complex, too. Their parents had died shortly after they were born, so they were raised by their grandfather. Sadly, he had recently died as well, leaving the two to live on their own. "What did you do yours on again?"

"Beauty and the Beast," Lovino sighed as the door was opened and he closed and locked it behind them. He did a mental check to ensure they really had everything they needed. They were both wearing their school uniform; blue plaid pants, white dress shirt, green tie, and blue jacket. It was definitely not something Lovino would chose to wear, but the World Academy had uniforms, so he wasn't going to fight it too much. They both had their backpacks, which he knew held their homework. And he knew Feliciano had his key, so everything was in order.

"I really love that story, too!" Feliciano gushed. "There are so many good Disney stories, it was so hard to choose just one!"

"Not really," Lovino stated as they started walking to school, which was just a short walk away from their apartment.

"I wonder what Ludwig did his on," Feliciano wondered, looking up in the sky.

"Why the hell do you care so much about that potato bastard?" Lovino grumbled. He never liked that damn German his brother hung around so much. The other friends were alright, except maybe Antonio(the annoying Spaniard that he was), but Ludwig really grated on his nerves.

"Well, he's really nice," Feliciano muttered, obviously oblivious to the fact that Lovino wanted that to be rhetorical. "And he protects me for the really scary people. And I don't want him to be alone, especially since his brother went missing…"

"The other one was probably just like him," Lovino muttered darkly.

"Hm," Feliciano hummed as they walked along and Lovino was able to experience blissful quiet until Feliciano seemed to suddenly remember something. "Oh! I heard that Alfredo was going to talk to you today!"

"What the hell does Alfred want with me?" Lovino raised an eyebrow.

"He didn't tell me," Feliciano shrugged. "But he seemed really excited about it."

"Yeah, well, he'll have to find me if he wants to talk," Lovino stated. "I'm not going out of my way for him."

"Okay! I'll be sure to tell him that!" Feliciano nodded happily.

"Go right ahead," Lovino sighed. They continued their idle talk until they made it to school and Antonio, as always, was the first one to greet them. He was a Senior, but was also held back longer than Lovino cared to know. Still, he didn't look too much older than the twins, who were Sophomores. He had chocolate brown hair and bright green eyes and always held this obnoxious smile that made Lovino want to punch him.

"Hola, Feli, Lovi!" he chimed.

"Hi," Lovino grumbled and swiftly continued past him and into the school. As usual, the two tried to get him to stay and hang out with them and even wait for Ludwig, but Lovino simply ignored them and made his way towards the Library. He would just stay in there until class started and then come back for lunch.

"Right on time," the librarian hummed and Lovino gave him a polite nod. He and the librarian got along rather well, considering all the time he spent in here. Lovino made his way to the fiction section and picked out one of his favorite books, one he'd read through three times already. He sat down at one of the tables and happily started reading.

He had made it to the part where the girl meets her prince charming, but she still didn't know it was him, when someone disturbed him.

"Found ya!" an obnoxious voice yelled proudly and the book was swiftly pulled out of Lovino's grip.

"You're in a fucking library, genius," Lovino snapped and stood up to try to get the book back, but Alfred kept it well above his reach. Alfred was a Junior, and an obnoxious jock that was way too full of himself. He had sandy blonde hair with an odd cowlick that stuck up straight and bright blue eyes. Currently, he was trying to give Lovino was of his "winning smiles." It wasn't working.

"Alfred, you should be a little quieter," a voice whispered behind him and Lovino noticed that they actually had a crowd. Right behind Alfred was…what's-his-face. No one bothered to remember his name, but he was always around Alfred, Lovino thought he was his brother, since they did look a lot alike. What's-his-face had the same color hair, though it was slightly longer and with his own curl that came out front and his blue eyes were hidden behind glasses. There were also a few cheerleaders that always followed Alfred around like a lost puppy.

"Why?" Alfred asked, glancing back at him.

"You've never actually been in a Library, have you?" Lovino deadpanned.

"So this is what that place looks like," Alfred nodded slowly before turning to Lovino. "Anyway, I have great news for you."

"You're going to give me my book back?" Lovino asked.

"What the hell do you want with this thing anyway?" Alfred laughed and flipped through the pages. "There's no pictures."

"Some people have this thing called an imagination, bastard," Lovino scoffed.

"Well, as for my terrific news," Alfred cleared his throat proudly, "I, the hero, have decided that you will be my boyfriend."

"No," Lovino stated, finally getting his book back as Alfred faltered slightly at the abrupt answer.

"Hey, I don't know if you heard me right," Alfred chuckled, obviously over his shock. "I said that you can be my boyfriend."

"And you didn't hear me right, fucktard," Lovino scoffed. "I said no."

"How could you just say no like that?" one of the cheerleaders had her hand up to her heart like she was about to faint.

"It's easy," Lovino sighed and decided he might as well put the book back on the shelf. Class was about to start, anyway, so he might as well start going to English.

"You don't even deserve him!" another cheerleader yelled and this time the librarian actually did shush the intruders in the peaceful atmosphere.

"Nah, it's alright," Alfred tried that "charming" smile of his once again. "I know you'll change your mind eventually."

"Whatever makes you happy," Lovino sighed and picked up his backpack before swiftly walking down the hallway just as the bell rang. He easily wormed his way through the crowd and wound up being one of the first people in the classroom.

He sat down in his desk and watched as people filed in; Feliciano, Antonio, Ludwig, and even Alfred were among them. Once class started, the teacher had a couple people read their papers and then they turned their papers in. Class remained uneventful, save for Alfred trying to pass notes to Lovino, who simply crumped up the pieces of paper and waited to toss them in the trash.

Eventually, and thankfully, the period ended and Lovino made his way into the crowded halls before Alfred could try anything. He made an effort to get lost, but the people around him easily recognized him.

"That's the guy Alfred's trying to get?" a few girls gossiped (very loudly) behind Lovino as he walked.

"I don't get it, he's so weird."

"Doesn't he go to the Library during lunch?"

"Why?"

"You know," Lovino said loudly, swiftly turning around in front of the small group of girls, who looked very startled, "he also has fucking ears. That can hear."

The girls blushed and immediately walked away in the same direction. Lovino let out a groan and turned around to continue on his way to whatever class he had next, but he soon found Alfred standing in front of him.

"No," Lovino stated when Alfred opened his mouth to talk.

"Why not? Give me one good reason," Alfred crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're obnoxious, conceded, a pain in the ass to everyone, loud, horrible to be around," the late bell rang above them and Lovino let out a sigh, "and you've made me late to class."

"Ouch?" Alfred muttered as Lovino started walking around him, but he quickly stepped back in front of him. "What will it take for me to get you to say yes?"

"If you could actually impress me enough for that, it would have to be a fucking miracle," Lovino finally brushed past him. "Bastard…"

"Impress you! Alright!" Alfred called to him and Lovino just rolled his eyes, going to his next class.

A man sat on a couch, watching some stupid, pointless show drone on and on and on about nothing. It was all pointless anyway. In his hand was a bottle of beer, something he drank from greedily, as if it would supply him life. There were many bottles around him, all of them empty.

"Why are you watching this, mon ami?" someone came behind the man to watch the show with him.

"Because it's distracting," the man grumbled, finishing up the last bit of the beer in his hand.

"You know as well as I do that it is wrong," the second man sighed.

"That's why it distracts me," the first man stated, watching as the stupid, pale kid started having a make out session with the girl. The first man gripped onto the empty bottle in irritation. This show was complete and utter bullshit; a girl would never fall for something like that. Before long, the bottle in his hand shattered, but the man didn't even wince as shards of glass pierced his skin.

"Let me help you clean that up," the second man sighed and moved in front of the first man, picking up a few of the shards that fell onto the ground.

"I'm thirsty," the first man muttered, looking at his hand. The glass stuck out jaggedly, but not a single drop of blood was shed. He pulled out one of the pieces of glass, feeling no pain.

"I'll get Antoine to get you more beer," the second man stated.

"That means we're out?" the first man ripped out several more shards with a single swipe.

"Sadly, oui," the second man sighed, content with the amount of glass he had picked up.

"Then I need food," the first man swiftly stood up, ripping out the last of the shards.

"It's getting worse, is it not?" the second man stood up as well and followed the first man out of the room.

"The five years is almost up," the first man ran his perfectly clean hand through his hair. "And there's no way I can fix it. At this point, it can only get worse."

It's so weird having Alfred as the "villain" considering he's supposed to be the hero and all… But I guess I'll get over it. Anyway, this story is dedicated to my friend, just because I'm nice. I tried writing her a Prumano a while ago (this is her OTP) and it failed miserably, so this is my second shot at it. Hope you like it, Vikki!

Also, I'm curious, if anyone can guess what makes Gilbert a "beast" before it's revealed (in Chapter 3 or 4, I'd say) I think I'm gonna give you a Hetalia one-shot. The little end section was him, if you were curious. And you have to guess specifically, not a generic answer like "monster" or something.

And my updates for this will be rather slow in comparison to my usual. I'm writing five stories at once right now, so please bear with me and be patient.

Please review! It is very lovely and I would love to know how I'm doing!

And I do not own Hetalia or Beauty and the Beast. I highly doubt a teenager like me could actually pull off owning something big like that.