As if Matthew wasn't already getting numerous stares today, now he had to deal with Alfred. The American's outburst had attracted even more onlookers (if that was even possible by this point). For a brief moment Matthew couldn't even think of what to say, though in hindsight it wouldn't even matter as the other blonde took the opportunity to continue speaking (more or less; shouting).

"Matty where the hell have you been? I've been looking for you all day, have you heard what practically everyone has been saying? Just what the hell is going on man?" Al said, (shouted) looking for once flustered and beyond confused. He stepped closer to where Matthew stood and lowered his voice. "Well? You going to say something? … Anything?"

The Canadian stared into the other blonde's sapphire eyes and found that Alfred was genuinely concerned. The look in his eyes wasn't a frenzied, butting his nose into places it doesn't belong kind of look, but he actually looked frightened for Matthew. Feeling as if his mouth had just been crammed full of cotton Mathew swallowed thickly and finally came out of his shocked state.

"Alfred please just hear me out. About today"-

"Oi, mon petit Mathieu there you are!" another voice cut in.

Matthew and Alfred turned to look at where the voice had come from. The crowded hallway full of students parted allowing Francis to pass through, the upperclassman appeared calm despite the thick tension, and chaos surrounding him. A pleasant smile was painted on his face as he approached the two spectacled blondes.

"Bonjour mes amours! Mon cher Alfred I need to borrow Mathieu for a little while to discuss a project for our French class." The French student even batted his lashes flirtatiously, as he placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder.

Alfred's face turned into a scowl and the American almost spat out his response.

"Can't it wait?"

Either he was oblivious or just flat out ignoring the American's foul mood (the Canadian expected that it was the latter) the Frenchman replied smoothly,

"I'm afraid it cannot. Besides there will be plenty of time later on for you two to discuss this foolish gossip plaguing the school. Speaking of which…" at this point Francis directed his attention to the crowd watching. "Do you mind? There is nothing else to see here so would you please move along. You all are clogging up the hallway like fat in an artery." At his words several of the students glared, however the taller blonde didn't back down and the crowds began to move. Many of the students muttering under their breath.

Alfred's face remained stiff in his scowling look for a little while longer but Matthew reached out to him and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Al, it's okay. I'll talk to you later. Just relax." The Canadian reassured.

The American's face softened as he ran a hand through his hair and he conceded to the other blonde's request.

"All right… I'll see you later then."

With that Al turned and walked away from him. Leaving Matthew alone with Francis; the elder of the two quickly beckoned for Matthew to come with him. Matthew nodded and went with him, even though he wasn't exactly sure why. The whole 'French project' thing was a lie, but the Canadian figured that if he followed the upperclassman he would eventually get the chance to thank him for taking the pressure off of him and Al.

Francis' room was on the floor above where Alfred had confronted Matthew and it took less than five minutes for them to arrive there. As they entered Francis instructed for Matthew to go on ahead and make himself at home and motioned to a small seating area within the room.

The room itself was about the same size as the one that Carlos and Matthew shared, though it was a singles instead. Along the room's left wall was a large cherry wood desk, as well as the door that led to the bathroom. Where the back wall should have been there were large windows instead, giving the room's occupant a spectacular view of the ocean. The small seating are Francis had motioned to was back there near the left corner of the room. The seating area was composed of imperial style chairs (four with plush dark colored cushions/fabric), which were arranged around a small darkly finished wooden table. On the right side of the room was Francis' bed, a large four poster bed, each side of the frame intricately carved with the headboard against the wall. Sheer curtains finished its look, combined with numerous pillows placed upon it as well. Closer to the door on the right side was an enormous double door closet, and beside that was a tall vanity. Said vanity had various ribbons, brushes and even colognes on top of it, complete with looking glass and a seat. The final piece of furniture in the room was a tall round table in the center of the room, large coffee table books splayed across the top accompanied by a clear glass vase filled with red roses.

While Matthew went to take a seat Francis went over to the vanity to grab a ribbon and quickly pulled his hair into a low ponytail.

"Mon cheri, I know that it was more than presumptuous of me to do so, but I thought that with all this madness going about the school you would enjoy some time to relax away from it all. That there on the table is rose tea; I do hope that you'll at least stay with me for one cup." Francis explained as he walked over to where Matthew was sitting. The table in front of him held a tray with two delicate tea cups, a pot, and an array of different sweet cakes.

"Oh, okay thank you. This is really very nice of you; but why? Not to be rude or anything but you didn't need to do something like this"-

"Nonsense mon petit Mathieu I wanted to do this." Francis spoke while pouring the tea into the two cups, asking if Matthew preferred one lump of sugar or two. The Canadian asked for two while the taller blonde continued. "Another thing is that if you do not wish to speak about today I will not force you. If you do, then go right ahead and tell me and I'll sit here and just listen. No judgments, oui?"

Matthew stared down into his cup, a foggy reflection of himself staring back. Debating whether or not he'd take Francis up on his offer to open up a little. It would do him some good to get some of his thoughts off his chest. Several more minutes passed by with only the two of them quietly sipping at their tea, with Francis moving to take a small sweet treat for himself.

"We just talked."

"Hmm?" the French student questioned, glancing up through half lidded eyes mid-sip.

"Ivan and I, we went down to the shore and just talked. This tension, this, please forgive me for being so blunt, bullshit that the school's so fired up on…I- I don't know how to really explain it, just nothing happened. I was friendly he was friendly end of story. Is it that hard for people to believe? And I know you said you weren't going to be judgmental or anything but, honestly tell me what you think happened today and what did you feel?" The Canadian blurted out, almost slamming the delicate tea cup back down on the coffee table, barely catching himself in time.

He stares at Francis in earnest, searching the other's face for any kind of reaction. Francis' cerulean eyes were downcast, staring down into his own lap contemplating on how to word his response. He'd sobered up rather quickly, with his dazzling smile pressed into a smooth line, and his voice while still smooth and collected carried an extra weight to it.

"To be quite honest, I didn't like it. However I tried to keep my own discomfort and personal feelings to a minimum. You're smart and can handle yourself well, so I knew that you'd be all right. This was before I heard some of the, how should I put this, 'horror stories' of what you were 'really' doing. My emotions went south from then on, and I couldn't help it. There's a history here with him, and the rest of the students…. Which I know you are tired of hearing but understand it is not my place to tell you what happened as I was not involved."

"I see… so wait. Are you trying to say, that while Ivan has this 'history' you won't even tell me because you weren't involved? Did you hear about it from a third party, if so it could all just be rumors like the crap that's spreading around"-

'Non, Matthew while I did not see the actions that took place that gave Ivan his reputation; I saw the aftermath, the damage left behind. If you are really desperate to know you'll have to ask someone who was, and I'm not giving out names of the others involved… but to get back to your original inquiry I became worried, even if Ivan has shown signs of improvement…please I will not make you stop your pursuing of some kind of relationship with him, but if something does go wrong or things start to get bad you will come tell me, oui?" Francis pressed. Reaching over the table and grasping Matthew's smaller hand in his own.

Even if the Canadian wanted to be angry with Francis, he couldn't. It was the look in his face and eyes, that same honest-to-god look of concern and worry that Alfred had given him earlier. The Canadian let his brow relax as well as the rest of him as he nodded. The distress that was reflected within Francis' eyes seemed to evaporate and he too visibly calmed.

"Things are going to change Mathieu; I hope you do realize that…" The French student murmured.

"I was prepared for that from the very beginning." Matthew responded simply.

A small series of beeps from the French student's watch brought them out of the uncomfortable conversation. The teller blonde checked his wrist and then turned up to Matthew.

"Oh my, I haven't realized how late it's gotten, mon petit Mathieu I believe your other friends must be quite worried. I didn't mean to keep you so late." Francis moved to stand up signaling Matthew to do so as well, muttering something in French about cleaning up the tea and pastry platter later.

The Canadian looked out the large window and noticed how low the sun was in the sky. It indeed had gotten to be quite late. Matthew wasn't surprised if dinner was about to begin soon. The smaller blonde walked with Francis to the door, the taller of the two pausing for a brief moment before opening it.

"Just remember you are always welcome here, and your grand frère will do whatever he can to help." Francis wrapped his arms around Matthew pulling him into a warm embrace, the Canadian stiffened but quickly relaxed. The action was comforting, and he returned it. When they pulled apart the French student brushed a few strands away from Matthew's forehead and pressed his lips to the skin there in a gentle kiss. The Canadian's cheeks blossomed into a rosy red and he found himself unable to look Francis in the eye, but nodded to acknowledge what the other said. "Take care, mon petit Mathieu…"

Francis opened the door and stood in the doorway while he sent Matthew off down the (now mostly) empty hallway. When the small blonde rounded the corner he, sighed deeply and moved to close his door when out of the corner of his eye he noticed something. Staring directly at him was Arthur Kirkland, the Briton's thick brows furrowed and he snorted in distaste before walking away. Francis was taken aback by the look and shut the door with a quiet 'click'.

"Pourquoi tu me regardes comme ça, mon petit monsieur?" He muttered somberly.

While Matthew was dealing with his own set of problems, Ivan had only just recently reentered the school building. Just as he expected students fixed their gazes upon him and parted their crowds to opposite sides of the hall. Some of them whispered, others glared their scorn unhidden, and the first years merely looked on with curiosity. Ivan carried himself with dignity, with an unreadable face as he made his way back to his room. The Russian was almost in the home stretch ascending the stairway up to his floor when he stopped dead in his tracks. A book had been tossed over the edge falling two stories down to the floor below landing with a loud, echoing 'Thud'. His breathing became quick and deep, sweat beading at his temples. Violet eyes glanced up wearily to the landing from where he thought the book was thrown. Gilbert smirked from above saying a small 'Oops' before running off, cackling like a madman. Ivan took a shaky breath before willing himself to move again.

Things were going to be more difficult than he had anticipated.

When Matthew entered his shared dorm Carlos looked up from his guitar and gave him a smile too big for his face. The Canadian attempted his own, but when the Cuban's smile began to falter he figured his own smile wasn't very convincing. Truth be told he was tired, and just wanted to sleep. Carlos set his instrument aside before opening his mouth to speak,

"Hey, Mateo you doing all right? You seem a little…"

Matthew nodded, "I'm fine, just tired… hey I'm gonna take a nap before dinner, will you wake me up please?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks."

Matthew quickly kicked off his shoes and removed his glasses placing them on his nightstand before climbing into bed and burying his face in a pillow. In less than five minutes he was asleep. Carlos on the other hand watched over the boy with a slight frown. His friend really did worry him, half because of what he was doing and the other half because he couldn't control the actions of the other students. He couldn't help but wonder if the Canadian was mentally prepared for the backlash, all of it.

The Cuban returned to his guitar and tightened a few more strings.

By dinner Matthew had perked up a tad more, things still seemed pretty normal . Tino and Berwald still joined them. The Finn spoke happily about trivial matters steering clear of the big fat elephant in the room. Unbeknownst to Matthew, Carlos had told them specifically to leave that nonsense alone. Matthew smiled and played along, his blue eyes scanning the crowd for any trace of Ivan. He caught Alfred glacing over at him a couple of times, and other students smirking at him, but no sign of the Russian. 'Is he all right ?' Matthew worried. For about ten or fifthteen more minutes the Canadian picked at his food before feigning tiredness and quietly slipping away and out of the dinning hall.

Matthew practically ran down the halls and up the stairs, part of him wanted to check on Ivan the other half just wanted to talk to someone who wouldn't look at him with a worried look in their eyes. He stopped just outside Ivan's bedroom door, listening to the low sounds of his double bass being played. The Canadian steeled his nerves before lightly tapping on the dark wood door. The music stopped and footsteps could be heard as well from inside. The door opened just a crack, one of Ivan's violet eyes peeking to look out. Once he recognized Matthew he opened the door wider.

"Hey," Matthew started out shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Can I just…"

Ivan nodded understanding what the smaller blonde wanted, "Of course, come in."

Ivan's room was the same size as Francis', though not nearly as extravagant; the only items in the room were the dresser, his desk, bed, nightstand, and bass with its stand (as well as a stand for sheet music). Each of the furniture was in the school's standard cherry colored finish, and his bed with the same sheets and comforter as Matthew's. Ivan went and sat of the edge of his bed and offered Matthew a seat in his desk chair. A large window rested against the far wall. A few smaller items placed into the room were two pictures on the nightstand; one appeared to be a family portrait. A younger Ivan stood in the middle of two girls, one with short blonde hair accessorized with a headband and blue eyes, very motherly looking despite her age, and younger blonde girl with a white bow placed in her long blonde hair and a fierce scowl on her face. 'Does he have sisters?' the other of a sunflower field.

"So, I take it things haven't been going well?" The Russian offered.

"It's not that… It's just everyone is handling me like glass and acting like worried mother hens. I feel suffocated, but I am grateful that they care about me so much." Matthew replied.

"Well, it's not their fault they are worried after look at who you're hanging around." At this point the Russian gestured to himself, still rather calm and accepting of everything. "Give it time Matthew, things will eventually calm down and they'll leave you alone. Trust me."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry, I've been at this place and know these people better than you. I can handle it." The silverette stated. "But I thought you didn't want to talk about this…"

"Ah, yeah…What was that you were playing earlier?"

"A small solo piece by Giovanni Bottesini."

"Would it be too much to ask for you to play it and let me listen?" Matthew ventured, his face turning pink after he said it. "But if you don't want to that's fine I was just wondering is all…"

Ivan was surprised by Matthew's request, and while he didn't show any outward signs of his surprise he felt flattered. He nodded, quietly saying that he didn't mind. He moved to grab the double bass and its bow, placing it between his legs and moving the music stand in front of him placing the sheet music in place. Once settled his hands went to their appropriate places on the neck, and he drew the bow across the strings.

Matthew watched, mesmerized by the way Ivan played. While he had heard him before the Canadian had never witnessed him play in such a close proximity. The Russian was a true artist at work, fingers and arms moving fluidly, his violet eyes closed playing mostly by ear, and only every so often did he look at the sheet music. It was beautiful, he was beautiful. Matthew found himself being soothed by those low notes, if only the moment could last forever.

As the piece drew to an end Ivan placed his beloved instrument aside before moving to put it back into its case. Matthew couldn't help but smile at the care the other took.

"You play beautifully…" He complemented. He even held back a small chuckle when it was Ivan's cheeks that turned a light shade of pink this time.

"Thank you."Ivan returned, his lips turned ever so slightly at the corners. A small smile.

Matthew smiled himself, "I guess dinner probably almost over by now…" He didn't want to leave but he had to make sure he got back before Carlos.

Ivan nodded, "Yes… Thank you for visiting… it was nice."

The Canadian let himself out and made his way back to his shared room. Carlos hadn't returned yet and Matthew sighed in relief, the blonde removed his school uniform and changed into his night clothes. He quickly brushed his teeth before climbing into bed and tucking himself beneath the thick covers. As he lay there he couldn't help himself as he pictured the Russian's frail smile. How shy and sad it was.

He closed his eyes and dreamed dreams of soft music that he would not remember come morning's light.

Okay. I've been gone for forever again… and I am not happy with chapter…jeez I'm so very sorry. I thank everyone who's been so very patient with me and waited for an update with this story, I thank everyone who chose to favorite or set and alert to this fic while I was gone and to the wonderful reviewers. Reasons why I was gone well I tried to have this finished by Christmas time but my great aunt passed away and I was really close to her so I couldn't bring myself to write, then spring break came and I was off with my Spanish class on a trip to Spain so no time to write then. Finally summer comes along and my father ends up hurting his leg to the point where he's been on crutches, thank fully now he's doing better but still… In the end I was mostly just reading and re-reading 'Giving In' and 'We'll Marry our Fortunes Together' to cheer myself up (I secretly stalk their works so don't tell XD). I really apologize for any change in writing styles or quality, I'm really trying to get back into the groove of writing again so you guys won't have to wait so long(It's been almost a year since my last update*slams head onto desk*). Thanks for reading and if you liked it please review/favorite/alert please! ~Sandshinobi00