Earth Angel - USUK - 2

-Arthur-

Hey Arthur, I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the dance with you tonight.  Matthew's going to be there, though.  Go with him.  I'd love if you did that.  You won't regret it, I promise.  

Sorry again.  

Alfred

I read the note for what must have been the hundredth time in the first half-hour of that class.  I looked at the clock above the classroom door.  2:30, it read.  

I sighed, placing the paper back in my pocket.

I'd tried to analyse the note over a thousand times.  Why did he want me to go with his brother?  Was it because he thought their similar looks would throw off my feelings for him?  Did he not want anything to do with me?  What did he mean by 'you won't regret it?'

Anyways, going to the dance with Matthew wasn't going to make me stop loving Alfred anytime soon.  Matthew was shy all the time, even more so than I.  Alfred was the opposite.  For some reason I can't possibly fathom, I fell for him, in middle school.  It's been nearly 5 years, now.   

I sighed again.  The World History teacher heard me.  She's alright as a person, not as an instructor.  The stuff we were learning was stuff I had known almost all my life.  "Mister Kirkland," she said.  She called on me whenever no one else volunteered to speak.  "Please name three of the articles of the Treaty of Versailles relating to Germany."

"German armed forces were to be number no more than 100, 000, Germany was to lose its colonies and pay 5 billion francs to France in reparations," I replied.  It was strictly elementary-school material in my opinion.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Francis – the frog – poke Ludwig – the German – in the back.  The rivalry lives on today.

My head wasn't in History, though.  Well, in a sense, it was.  Recent history.

I'd already decided to go to the dance with Matthew.  For some reason Alfred wanted me to, and despite my questions, I wasn't going to say no to him.  

God, I wish that whole cafeteria scene hadn't happened.  I had planned to tell him of my feelings after school that day (that's what the cinnamon hearts were for.  I know Alfred loves cinnamon).  Then Feliks came and had to make me do that.  

And because I am indeed a man of my word, I came out and told him then and there.  I could have tried to beat Feliks at the game, but he wouldn't have turned away.  I wasn't going to kiss anyone anytime soon unless they were a specific blond-haired American with a smile that looked like it belonged in Hollywood.  

As well, the improvisation from drama class earlier, for me was simply an excuse to get close to him without him suspecting a thing.  I must say, I do consider myself a rather good actor, if nothing else.  The reason I didn't want to be the 'girl' in the song was so I wouldn't have to go through the painstakingly difficult task of having to distance myself from him.

The bell rang suddenly, at 3:10, snapping me out of my thoughts.  I had been daydreaming for a total of forty minutes.  I zipped up my bag and headed to my locker.  I tried to put my stuff away slowly, so I would get one more chance to see Alfred before I left for the day.  He didn't show up.  I hope he hadn't skipped again.  The teachers hated it when he did that, and Matthew, Gilbert and I often had to conjure up some kind of cover story for him.

I gave up waiting and headed home.  Alfred and I lived on the same street and we sometimes walked home together.  I would understand why he wouldn't want to see me after today, though.  I stared at his house, number 263, as I passed by.  It seemed like there was nobody home.  10 minutes later, I got to my house, number 1105.  I unlocked the door and went straight upstairs to my room.  Luckily, my irritating younger brother Peter wouldn't be home for another hour or so.  The elementary school was farther away than the high school.  

I examined myself in the mirror in my room.  I looked a bit too tired and sweaty for a dance, so I went to take a shower.

I'm not going to lie.  Even after a mere three hours, I missed him.  Alfred, I mean.  God, I think I'm the only person in the entire bloody world capable of wanting to see someone every hour of every day.  And it's been like that for 5 years.

I'm a bloody romantic, but no one apart from me knows it.

That's basically what was going through my head as I stepped out of the shower.

I wrapped a towel around my body, walked out of the lavatory, and went in search of a clean shirt.  

As I was doing up the last button, I heard the front door swing open and my brother laughing as he ran inside.  My parents followed him wordlessly.  I pretended like I wasn't home.  "Arthur?" I heard Peter shouting.  "Arthur, where are you?"

I sighed.  "Up here," I said unenthusiastically.  I slipped some trousers on.  

Peter barged into my room without bothering to knock.  "Arthur, you'll never guess what happened today!"

That seemed like his catch phrase.  What he usually told me, though, was never that incredible.  "What happened?" I said, trying to make my hair look just a touch neater.

"There was this boy from your school who came over to my school today for some odd reason!  And when he said he was from your school I asked him if he knew you and he said yes and he also said this weird thing happened at lunchtime today and you were crying and everything!"

My ears hurt from his run-on sentence with all the 'ands'.  I turned away from him.  "What was his name?" I asked, pretending to act indifferent when I was actually blushing furiously.  So what if I had been crying?  Alfred said 'what' four sodding times as if he were mocking me!

"Mister Galante!" he said.  "He was really nice to me!"

Galante?

Oh, Raivis.  I briefly wondered what he was doing in a sixth year class.  Then I realized he could have easily been mistaken for a 12-year-old.

Peter jumped on my bed.  "So what were you crying about?" he asked me.

"That's my own problem."  I started doing up my tie, Full Windsor style.

"Come on, tell meeeeee," he insisted.  Then he stopped bouncing.  "Is it because of that nerdy-looking bloke you want to marry?"

I nearly choked on…air.  "Whatever gave you the idea that I wanted to marry him!?" I shouted, incredulous.  Then I realized my parents were still downstairs and quieted down.  "And he's not nerdy-looking."

Peter had somehow figured out about my thing for Alfred.  We had been doing an English project together in ninth year, he had come over to my house, and Peter just noticed how…into him I was.  He was a bloody observant 9-year-old back then.

"Well," Peter said, pulling me out of the brief lapse of attention, "Mister Vargas-" (that was the Italian brothers' father.  And Peter's *groan* sex-ed instructor.) "-said that when you marry someone, it's because you love them!" he went on.  "And you love Albert, right?"

"Alfred," I corrected.  I believe I had been continuously blushing for about 5 minutes by then.  "And yes, I do."  

But I didn't want to think about anything beyond tonight.  I didn't want to think about what Alfred thought of me.  I just felt like ignoring my thoughts until I could properly confront him the next day.  "Please get out of my bedroom now," I told Peter, trying to sound annoyed.  I just didn't have the energy.

Peter left without another word, realizing he had won the most recent round of Try-To-Piss-Off-Arthur-And-Get-Away-With-It.

At around seven, I went downstairs to have some tea.  I'd have to leave in about an hour for the dance, and tea always helped to calm me down.  

I pulled a book at random off a shelf, sat on the sofa with my tea, and passed the time enjoying both.

At 7:50, I got a call on my cellular.

"Yes?" I said.

"Is this Arthur?"

"Yes.  Alfred?"

"This is Matthew."  

"Oh.  Hello, Matthew."  My heart rate slowed down.

"You know you're late, eh?"

I frowned, confused.  "I should be leaving in ten minutes.  It starts at eight-thirty, doesn't it?"

"Seven-thirty."

"Oh."  Bugger.  I looked at my watch.  "Sorry.  I'll meet you in a half-hour, alright?"

"Cool.  It's okay."

"Goodbye."

"See you."

We hung up.  I grabbed my jacket from the hook.  "Bye, Mum!  Bye, Dad!"

I heard my dad's mumbled goodbye from the kitchen.  My mother emerged, brandishing a knife in one hand and an aubergine in the other.  She waved the latter at me.  "Have fun!" she said.  With that I walked out the door.

Half an hour later, on the dot, I got to the school.  Matthew was waiting for me just inside the doors.  I heard muffled music from the gymnasium.  "Sorry to keep you waiting," I said.

"It's fine.  I just told Gilbert to go and not worry about me."  He yawned.  "Shall we start moving, then?" he said.  I nodded, and we started down the first hall.

He was here with Gilbert?  "Wait a second.  Didn't Alfred tell you to come here with me because you had no one to go with?"

"No…well technically, yes.  Gilbert's playing guitar in the band.  So I kind of have no one I'm with."

That just made me more confused.  I had thought they were just going to play music over the speakers.  

We rounded another corner and I saw the gymnasium doors at the end of the hall.  "What is Alfred doing, anyways?" I asked, looking at him.

"He's…busy," he said simply, the slightest of smiles playing at his lips.

It seemed I wasn't going to get a better answer than that.

We got to the doors and Matthew opened one while I opened the other.  It took a couple seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light, but what I eventually did see took my breath away.

Alfred stood on the stage, bent over a microphone stand.  His back heaved ever so slightly from the effort of singing his last song.  All I could see at the moment was his hair.  The bright lights above the stage framed it…well, beautifully, and the single strand that protruded from the top of his head glowed golden.  God, he was absolutely perfect.  

The gym door shut behind me with a fairly loud click.  Alfred, hearing it, looked up and straight at me.  

I sort of stopped breathing.  The look on Alfred's face was unlike one I had ever seen on that normally over-hyperactive American.  His face was glistening with sweat, making his glasses fog up slightly.  His eyebrows were lowered, his eyes half-closed and his lips slightly parted in an unintentional smile.  That's where I was looking as his mouth started moving to form words.  "This song goes out to all you lovers on the dance floor," he said, slightly out of breath.  "And," Alfred continued, all the while staring at me with the sternest of expressions, "To Arthur Kirkland."  

I twitched and my eyes widened as all gazes turned towards me.  I saw Alfred smile.  Then he turned around to the band behind him and nodded.  They started playing a slow, older-style ballad that seemed somewhat familiar to me – though I can't say when I had heard it before.  People on the floor started looking left and right, trying to spot their so-called 'significant others'.  I shifted my eyes.  My special person was right there on the stage in front of me.  The only one I'd ever want to spend Valentine's Day with.  

Alfred turned back to his microphone.  He swayed slowly on the stage and closed his eyes completely.  Then he started to sing, and all doubts, questions and memories of the day were simply swept to the back of my brain.

Earth angel, Earth angel
Will you be mine?
My darling dear
Love you all the time
I'm just a fool,
A fool in love with you

His singing took my breath away.  In truth, I'd never heard Alfred sing before – and it was more incredible than I could have imagined.  His constant high-pitched babble was gone.  His voice came out smooth as silk and only the slightest vibrato was added on to the long notes.  I started to tingle in a strange way.  The sensation started at my fingers, spreading up my arms and into my cheeks.  I'm sure they turned quite a vivid pink.  Alfred…I was losing myself in the beautiful tone of his voice.

Earth angel, Earth angel,
The one I adore
Love you forever and ever more.
I'm just a fool,
A fool in love with you

The words.  I was trying to figure out what he meant by the words.  

What a git, I thought.  Leave it to him to choose the cheesiest song possible.

I fell for you, and I knew
The vision of your love's loveliness
I hope and I pray that someday
I'll be the vision of your hap-happiness

Alfred removed the microphone from the stand and sat slowly on the edge of the stage, opening his eyes to stare – dare I say lovingly? – at my face.  

Earth angel, earth angel
Please be mine
My darling dear
Love you all the time
I'm just a fool
A fool in love with you

I stared up at him.  I didn't realize it, but I had started slowly walking away from the door and towards the stage.  Soon I was close enough to it that I could feel the heat from the stage lights on my face as well.  

I fell for you and I knew
The vision of your love's loveliness
I hope and I pray that someday
I'll be the vision – the vision of your happiness

Alfred motioned for me to come closer.  I looked around me, embarrassed.  

Earth angel, earth angel, please be mine…

I walked slowly towards him, feeling my cheeks flush darker with each step I took.  I noticed, unfortunately, that everyone else had stopped dancing to watch the exchange between us.  

My darling dear, love you for all time…

Eventually I was standing about half a foot away.  

I'm just a fool…  

Alfred softly took my hand in his own.  He laced our fingers together and held our hands at shoulder height.  I didn't resist him.  I'm sure I was too far in shock and wonder to react.  

A fool in love…

Alfred held the word love for a long time.  Then the band stopped playing, and his voice was all that was heard throughout the gymnasium.  My heart started beating faster.  Alfred smiled at me.  He opened his mouth one final time.  He was now only a centimetre away from my face.  

With…you.

After a brief moment of complete and utter silence, Alfred dropped the hand with the microphone, breathing heavily.  Everyone clapped politely.  He didn't even acknowledge them.  He kissed the back of my hand – the one that was in his own – then brought the microphone back to his mouth.  My heart threatened to beat clear out of my chest.  There was only one thing running through my head:  

No way…

"Hey Arthur," he said softly, grinning.  The crowd quieted down.  I blushed profusely and covered the mic with my hand.  

"Not to the whole place, you git!" I hissed.

Alfred smiled playfully, like his old self.  He shook his head and snatched the mic back from me.  "Arthur Kirkland, will you be my Valentine?"

For the second time of the night, I simply stopped breathing.  My eyes widened.  A few things ran through my head, like the fact that there were 200 people currently staring at me…

Then, well, I just stopped thinking entirely.  I threw my arms around Alfred's neck and kissed him full on the lips.  

He tasted like cinnamon.  

Alfred dropped the mic on the stage, which resulted in loud, annoying feedback.  He hugged me tightly, stood up and returned the kiss with just as much passion.  I wrapped my legs around him.

And everyone on the dance floor erupted into cheers.

Alfred and I broke the kiss at the same time, rather shocked by the reaction.  Alfred let me down softly and picked up the mic.  "Uh…thanks, I guess…" he said, laughing uncomfortably.  "Moving on now."  

I watched, smiling in wonder, as Alfred climbed back on the stage.  He was about to start another song when Gilbert, with his guitar, tapped him on the shoulder and said something to him, snickering.  I couldn't hear what he said.  Alfred gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder, laughing in response.  He handed the mic to Gilbert, got down from the stage and walked over to me.

"What did he say?" I asked.

Alfred gave me a crooked smile.  "He told me to go have a dance with my boyfriend."

I turned away from him to hide my blush and my stupid smile.  I felt as if I were floating.  It was so surreal.  "Boyfriend.  Right."     

Alfred looked like he was about to come up with a witty response when Gilbert started talking.  "Hey guys," he said.  "I figured my buddy here" – he pointed to Alfred – "Needed some quality make-out time after that.  So I'm playin' this one."

The crowd laughed and made wolf calls, with the exception of Alfred and I, who rolled our eyes and faced each other.  Gilbert strummed a chord.  Alfred recognised the song right away.  His eyes lit up and he grinned.  "Come on Arty!" he said, pulling me by the hand closer to the middle of the dance floor.  "Let's dance!"

Arty?  Where'd that name come from?  

It was making me get butterflies.

Anyways, Gilbert started to sing.

There will be no rules tonight
If there were we'd break them
Nothing's gonna stop us now,
Let's get down to it

Nervous hands and anxious smiles
I can feel you breathing
This is right where we belong
Turn up the music

Alfred mouthed the lyrics, doing an aimless dance around me.  I tried to follow him, which ended up in the two of us flailing our arms and jumping up and down like bloody idiots.  I didn't care.  I laughed.  Alfred could sing better than anyone, but he sure was a lousy dancer.

This is the dance for all the lovers
Taking a chance for one another
Finally it's our time now
These are the times I will remember
Breaking the city sights together
Finally it's our time now

This is more than just romance
It's and endless summer
I can feel the butterflies
Leading me through it

Take my heart I'll take your hand
As we're falling under
This is an objection now
Let's get down to it

This is the dance for all the lovers
Taking a chance for one another
Finally it's our time now
These are the times I will remember
Breaking the city sights together
Finally it's our time now

Gilbert went to his knees, soloing.  We took the chance to look around for our friends on the dance floor.  I spotted Feliciano jumping around a flustered Ludwig, Kiku and Heracles asleep on each other's shoulders on the bench, and Antonio – who had apparently returned to school for the dance – trying to get Lovino to dance with him.  Alfred's brother – whose name has suddenly slipped my mind – was standing alone in front of the stage, staring at Gilbert coyly.  Gilbert winked at him, then got up and started singing again.

This is the dance for all the lovers
Taking a chance for one another
Finally it's our time now
These are the times I will remember
B-B-Breaking the city sights together
Finally it's our time now

Alfred and I clapped and cheered along with the rest of the school.  We were both rather gross and sweaty.  Alfred nodded at Gilbert, telling him to do another song.  He turned back to me.  "Let's go get a bench, I'm exhausted," he said leading us towards the side of the gymnasium.

I grinned.  "Never thought I'd hear you say that," I muttered.

Alfred sat down.  "What was that?"

"Nothing.  By the way, the chocolates-"

"That was me," he said.

I smiled understandingly at him.  But then all my questions came back.  I decided to focus on just one.

"So anyways, why did you go through the trouble of doing all this?  Why didn't you just say something earlier and spare yourself the embarrassment?"  I sat down facing him.

Alfred scratched the back of his head.  "W-well, you know, I was afraid you'd just…reject me or something …"

"I told you after lunch, I…I lo-"

"This is, you know, erm…"  Alfred cut me off.  He blushed.  "More romantic, don't you think?"  He smiled shyly at me.

I blushed.  He had done the absolute sweetest thing in the world for me.  I shook my head.  "You fool," I said.  

Alfred giggled.  "A fool in love with you," he sang softly.  He took my hands in his own, leaning over.  He brought our lips together in a kiss: a simple, sweet kiss that needed no words to convey a message that made my heart soar.

Alfred was in love with me.  There was nothing else in the world that mattered.

♥End♥