Chapter 3

AN: I decided to get rid of the humorous Chapter 2 part 2 because I wanted to keep the dramatic yet fluffy theme of the story.

This chapter leaves off right where chapter 2 did, so if you need to re-read chapter 2 so you can remember what happened, do so. These two go back to their normal characters in the morning, and stop acting like star-crosse lovers. Also, upon request from one of you guys, I'm going to add in a character.

Again, thank you ALL for your comments and support.

Rated- T for swearing.

Enjoy~

~America POV~

I awoke to birds chirping, their songs practically floating through my bedroom window. The slight screech of cicadas irritated my ears. I opened my eyes, sunshine pouring in my face. Quickly shutting my eyes, I let out an annoyed grumble, turning from my side onto my back. The arms that were wrapped around me loosened their grip on my bare chest- wait, WHAT!?

Looking down, I saw my angel.

Platinum blond strands fanned out across the pillow and sheets. Her hairbow, that must have fallen out, laid a few feet away. She was laying on her side, knees bent, almost tucked up to her chest. Milky white eyelids were gently closed, long black dolly eyelashes rested upon her porcelain white cheeks, lips forming a small smile. She retracted her arms from me in her sleep, and curled them up against her chest.

God she was beautiful.

Suddenly, her face scrunched up. Her eyes closed tightly, lips forming a frown. Small tears began to spill from her eyes. She made a whimper, further curling herself into a ball.

I immediately wrapped her up in my arms, and kissed away the fresh-fallen tears.

"Its ok, Bel. I'm here. Nobody can ever hurt you again. Please, Bel, don't be scared." I whispered softly in between kisses, trying not to wake her up.

Unfortunately, my words didn't reach her. Her face scrunched up even more, tears spilling from her eyes.

The sight was unbearable. I would rather have taken a bullet to the heart.

"R...R...Russia" she managed to stammer out painfully in her sleep.

My world stopped.

That BASTARD had invaded her dreams, eating her from the inside out painfully. Frustrated tears began to stream from my face. Turning my head to the side, I buried my face in my pillow. I let out a few shaky breaths, a few sobs escaping my lips.

Why, why, why did I have to witness this... torture!? The love of my life being swallowed up by painful memories of the past, and I can do is sit there like an huge idiot and watch as she gets destroyed from the inside out, her sanity slowly fading each day?!

Wiping away my remaining tears quickly, I decided that I would have to wake my snow angel.

"Bel?" I called to her with a scared, shaky breathing (from crying). I shook her shoulders lightly. "Nat?" I continued, shaking her a little more vigorously.

"Big brother... Leave me alone... Get away!" She shouted, still fast asleep.

"Natalia?!" I started to get concerned, shaking her shoulders frantically.

She awoke with a start, a gasp escaping her lips. Tears flooded in her eyes, her bottom lip quivering.

I quickly sat up and scooped her in my arms (she is so light!) and tucked her head in the crook of my neck. Sitting criss-cross-applesauce, I placed her in my lap. Cradling her back and forth, I kept whispering, "He's never going to get you again, Bel. Not if I can help it." Her sobbing stopped, processing what I had just said. She looked into my eyes to see if I meant the words I spoke. A few tears streamed down my face as I said, looking strait into her eyes, "I swear on my life, Natalia Arlovskaya, I will protect you. This promise I promise to you now is being sworn on my life, Natalia. Until death, I will always love and protect you, forever and forevermore." A gazed at her, as she gave me the most startled look, which then melted into the most loving gaze I have ever seen.

And trust me, I've been alive for over 200 years. I've seen alot of them.

Natalia re-positioned herself, so she was still in my lap but now she was facing me, her doll-like hands resting on my chest. She reached up (she had to sit up because I was too tall) and planted a kiss on my forehead, whispering loving words to me. She pulled away, gave me one last loving look and crawled out from my lap. She retrieved her bow and walked out of my bedroom, going down the stairs. I quickly got dressed and headed down stairs too, stopping on the last stair to see Belarus turn the front door's doorknob with one hand, a piece of warm buttered toast in the other.

"You...you...you have to go?" I whined quietly, like a child.

Belarus sighed, "I have to get back to Big Brother eventually." She said with a sad, but reassuring smile.

Before I knew it, I ran to her and grasped her wrist (the hand that was on the doorknob).

"Please don't go." I said sadly. "I can't bare to see you go back to the hell that is Russia's house." Natalia looked away from me. I gently pried her hand from the doorknob, grasping her small hand in both of mine. Looking down, avoiding eye-contact, I asked one more time.

"Please."

~Normal POV~

Belarus thought for a moment.

'One day couldn't hurt... right?' she thought.

She sighed. "Ok Alfred."

He looked up, meeting her violet-blue eyes.

"W-what?"

"I said 'yes', Alfred." She said with an eye roll, speaking in her normal, slightly-annoyed tone.

America's flashed his million-dollar smile, before picking up the platinum blond by her waist and spinning her around. Laughing, he said, while continuing to spin her, "Thank you thank you THANK YOU! Don't worry, Bel, I'll tell your boss that you have business to take care of so he won't be suspicious-"

"Alfred, how many times have I told you not to call me 'Bel'?!" She snapped.

The American laughed, setting her down. "Whatever you say, Nat~!"

~Belarus POV~

I sat on a stool near Alfred's countertop and he frantically called my boss with his high-tech 'touch screen' phone. It was called something like a MePhone...

Once he was done, I asked him, "Why can't you just use a normal phone." as I pictured a classic black phone mounted to a wall.

Taking out his MePhone again, he retorted, "This is a normal phone!" puffing out his cheeks like a child.

Sighing, I changed the subject. "What should we do today, then? You have me for..." I glanced at an electric clock across the room. "двенадцать- Sorry, Twelve, more hours."

Alfred turned his head away from me. I noted the blush on his cheeks he tried to hide.

"What?"

Nothing. He just continued to remain silent. He swallowed nervously.

"What?!" I pushed on.

He sighed, twiddling his thumbs.

"What?!" I slammed my palms on the counter.

He faced me.

"Your accent is hot."

I stared at him dead panned. My hands began to curl into a fist.

"W...what?!"

"I said, foreign accents are hot. It's just a fact." he said with shrug.

My eyebrows knotted together with anger.

"You... вы идиот! Я могу поверить, что ты это скажешь мне в лицо!" I started threatening him in a string of Russian curses. I tried to speak English so I wouldn't fuel the fire I had just started, but it was habit, dare I say a... quirk?

But he just continued to stare at me, fantasizing, which only made me angrier, which meant more Russian curses, which meant more staring from that American. Finally, I had decided to stop. I sat there, avoiding eye-contact, and stood my ground.

~America POV~

The small woman had her arms across her chest, cheeks puffed out, face bright red from arguing, giving me an annoyed look.

...Utterly... adorable!

I couldn't help myself. I reached over to her a placed a small peck on her lips.

Shocked by my forwardness, she flinched, resulting her to loose her balance and fall off the stood, landing on her back. However, her legs were still laced in the stool because of her thick Mary Jane shoes she was wearing. Feet sticking up in the air in different directions, her face turned even deeper red. Why? Well, she was wearing a dress so-

"DONT LOOK!" She screeched, pulling a section of fabric from the front of her dress over the now exposed area.

I laughed, walking out of the room so she could collect herself, the image of Natalia's blue-ish purple panties with white frilly trim burning into my head.

I put on my bomber jacket over my red shirt that read 'hero' in red, white, and blue stripes. I tucked the ends of my jeans into my red converse shoes as I grabbed my car keys.

I was about to enter the kitchen were Natalia was when she came out of the doorway. She grabbed me by the wrist, twirling me, and pinned me to the nearest wall. Holding one of her knives in her small gloved hand, she held it to my throat, nose a few millimeters from mine.

"Listen, JONES." She said with venom laced in her words. "What just happened- never happened. You didn't see anything, da?" She tilted her head to the side, awaiting my answer. She gave me a child-like grin- A creepy one that was!

I gulped and frantically nodded my head.

"Good." she said, pulling away quickly. So quick that I almost fell face-first on the floor.

God I love a girl who can kick my ass.

"Where are we off to then?" She inquired, interrupting my thoughts. Spotting my car keys in my hand as we walked out of the front door to my driveway.

"How 'bout Mickey-D's!" I suggested excitedly.

"How about no." She countered.

I got a running start and slid over the hood of my convertible red ford mustang and opened the door for Natalia.

She climbed in, not used to my car, stumbling as she sat herself down in the passenger seat. Boy, if she wasn't careful, the incident from earlier could've happened again. Not that I would have minded.

I closed her door and walked around the hood.

I didn't need no door.

Jumping over the door I landed in the driver's seat.

((AN: Remember that 1) This is a convertible 2) The windows were down 3) Yes, it's possible to jump over the door. I've seen SO many people do it before.))

I flashed a million-watt smile at her, looking at her...

...totally un-amused face.
I sighed.

Damn. She's hard to impress.

"How about a coffee shop?" She interrupted my thoughts.

"Perfect! Good idea, Bel~! TO STARBUCKS!" I put the keys in, revved the engine, and pulled out of my driveway, flying down the busy New York streets.

~Timeskip~
~Still America POV~

Surprisingly, there weren't many people in Starbucks today. Maybe because it was a Sunday.

We stepped up to order.

"Large strawberries n' creme please~!" I ordered before the cashier could even ask for our order. ((AN: a Strawberries n' Creme is kinda like a strawberry milkshake))

"And for you, miss?"

She stared at the menu, deep in thought.

"A small decaf latte, and one of those." She said in a monotone, pointing a finger toward a chocolate cake-pop.

"Alrighty! That will be $20.97 please."

I handed her a 50, not before sneaking a glance at Natalia's face, which was currently shocked.

"That's... a little much." She told the cashier in a doubting tone. "Are you sure that's correct?" she challenged.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, Nat! Their coffee may be... overpriced, but it's worth it~!" I reassured her.

The cashier decided to ignore her comments and handed me back my change of a 20, a 5, and some singles. I placed the 5 dollar bill in the tip jar. The cashier's face lit up slightly. "Thank you! Coming right up~!" she said, walking over to the many complex machines and making us our drinks.

I glanced over to Natalia- wait... where was she?! I frantically glanced around the shop- to find her in a large black leather seat right by the fireplace, knees curled up to her chest. There was a very large and very tall bookshelf next to her. One of the books sat in her lap, opened. Natalia read, purple-blue eyes darting across the page, and with a single flick of her finger across the page, it turned.

"Sir! Sir?! SIR!?" I blinked, getting out of my fantasy.

"Your drinks are ready." The now annoyed cashier said, handing (more like shoving) me the two drinks, and a small green bag containing Belarus's cake-pop.

~Normal POV~

Barely making it to the coffee table where Natalia sat, the American clumsily placed the drinks on the table, a few drops landing on the smooth laminated wood surface of the coffee table. He dropped the bag that contained the cake-pop in the Belarusian lap where the book rested, startling her. She immediately placed it on the coffee table and resumed reading. Alfred sat (more like slumped) in the similar leather chair beside her. He sighed, grabbing his drink that rested on the coffee table in front of them. Taking a sip, he glanced at the beauty sitting beside him.

Her long fingers flipped another page of the book. 'To kill a Mockingbird'... The American noted.

She reached over, still distracted by the book, a blind hand trying to find her cup. Finding her latte, she grasped it and brought it up to her face, sticking the cup up to her pale lips and taking a sip. She glared over at the American, who had a goofy grin plastered to his face, eyes half closed, going of in la-la land.

"Your drink is going to get warm." she snapped, breaking him from his gaze on her.

"R-right." He said, sipping on his strawberries n' creme, suddenly finding the flames that lapped the sides of the fireplace very interesting.

Sighing, the girl closed the book, placing it carefully back on the shelf.

She took out her cake-pop, nibbling on the delicious hardened chocolate shell, before sinking her teeth into the moist chocolate cake. She let out a hum of delight, finding the treat scrumptious. A few white sprinkles clung to her face.

"Here-" America reached over and wiped off the sprinkles from her porcelain cheeks with a napkin.

And elderly couple just happened to walk by, seeing their little scene.
"Ah, young love." The elderly man said.

America and Belarus looked away from each other frantically, large blushes present on their faces.

Changing the subject and trying to get rid of the awkward tension in the air, the blond said, "Why are you drinking such a warm drink? It's the middle of summer!"

"Why are you wearing a leather jacket right now?" She retorted without hesitation.

"..."

"..."

"Touché."

Damn she was good.

Sighing, the Belarusian responded, "If you really must know, Alfred, it's because it reminds me of home. Because of the cold temperature always present there, we would drink warm drinks like this-" she held up her latte.

America nodded. "So, your... homesick? I thought you didn't like Ivan anymore. His house is the last place you would want to be."

"Enough." She said, getting up to throw away her now empty cup and cake-pop scraps.

'Stupid America. He doesn't know what he's talking abou-' she stopped.

~Flashback~

"Its ok, Bel. I'm here. Nobody can ever hurt you again. Please, Bel, don't be scared."

"He's never going to get you again, Bel. Not if I can help it."

"I swear on my life, Natalia Arlovskaya, I will protect you. This promise I promise you now is being sworn on my life, Natalia. Until death, I will always love and protect you, forever and forevermore."

~Reality~
~Belarus POV~

'That... was that a dream? It had to be. That American would never love me. No one would...'

I looked at the American. He was at the counter buying himself a pastry. His golden locks glowed in the musty yellow lights of the cafe, eyes shining as he looked over all the pastries. His mouth formed a huge, childish smile as he gazed upon all the tasty treats. His glasses threatened to slide off his nose, but he reached a hand up and pushed them to the bridge of his nose.

Suddenly, he stiffened, the color draining from his eyes. His smile faded into a concerned frown. He looked at his fore-arm; Goosebumps. He walked up to me, grabbed my arm, and dragged me out the front door of the coffee shop.

"Alfred?! What about your pastry?!" I yelped, trying to distract him with the thought of food.

"Not now, Bel." He said, literally throwing me in the back seat of his car. He climbed into the front seat, started up the car, and sped down the street. He was driving so fast and so... Recklessly, that I couldn't get up. Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

~Time skip~
~Still Belarus POV~

He pulled up in his driveway, almost knocking down the mailbox in the process.

He quickly climbed out and slammed his door shut. He reached in over the door and scooped me up in his arms.

I had enough of his weird behavior. I was about to get my knife out to strike him but then he did something that changed everything.

He took out his shot gun.

My arms wrapped around his neck, and I looked him strait in the eyes.

His eyes were still drained of color, their attention point was on, what I assume was, his front door. I could tell what he was looking at since my back was facing toward his house. Gun in his hands, he looked down at me. He saw the terror and confusion in my eyes. His face softened slightly, "Sorry to scare ya, Bel, but someone broke in, and I have a certain person in mind. The last time we met, I barley won. He could've took my life." He sighed.

"You have to promise me this, Natalia-"

I nodded.

"Promise me that you will keep hanging on to me. Bury your head in my jacket, and no matter what you hear, you can't look or move. Ok?" He begged.

I nodded.

"Thank you." He said with the most genuine smile.

~Normal POV~

Alfred began speed walking toward his door, Belarus still in his arms, looking up into his eyes. He stepped through the doorway. The door was pulverized, sharp splintery bits making crunching sounds under his shoes. Dust from the wood flew everywhere. A silhouette of a tall yet muscular man appeared through the cloud.

~Belarus POV~

"Hey, you know that promise you just made me?" Alfred spoke, a familiar eerie feeling slamming into me. Chills ran up my spine.

"Yeah?" I stammered out.

He kept looking strait ahead. "It begins now."