OH. MY. GOSH! I am back, after how long? Too long is the answer. I've been busy. Ever since I graduated high school and summer came, my part time job is now basically a full time job. Gotta save up for college. Anyway, there's other reasons why this is soooo late, but I don't wanna seem like I'm making up excuses. Anyway, I hope ya'll like this. Sorry for any bad grammar or spelling. You know me; I'm HORRIBLE at editing my own stuff.

Also, be on the look out for a companion piece to 'Yoho, Alfred' written by Princess Camille Hitachiin

She informed me that it'll be about Lovino and Antonio meeting and up until Alfred and Arthur walk the plank. Whatever she does with it, I'm sure it'll be fabulous.

So please enjoy!

Chapter Four: Definition of High School

Whenever I get nervous about something, especially when it's something I've never done before, I always think of that song from that old claymation Christmas special. You know the one about the origins of Santa Claus, and there was that song where Kris Kringle teaches the evil winter dude how to become good. He's all like, 'becoming good is just like learning to walk, dude! Just put one foot in front of the other!' Or something like that.

It was one of the few movies my parents let us kids watch.

Anyway, the point is, whenever I'm nervous about something new, I think about that song, and I like to think that whatever I'm about to do is just like learning how to walk.

Most of the time though, it's not so simple. But it's still a nice thought.

This school was so big, almost too big. He had no idea where he was going, he was just trying to keep up with his aunt's quick pace. She said she wanted to come with him to meet the principle and get him registered. Whatever the reason, Alfred was thankful he wasn't going through this alone.

This morning when he woke up he felt so nervous. He was literally shaking and he felt extremely nauseous. He still did. He tried to convince his aunt and uncle that he was too sick to go to his first day of school, but Matthew scoffed while his uncle insisted that he would be fine and that he was just feeling anxious.

"Aunt Meryl, w-wait up!" Alfred stammered, having trouble weaving through the many students. She looked back and gave an apologetic smile and slowed down.

"Sorry sweetie. I guess I'm just as nervous as you." She said, laughing nervously. Alfred smiled.

"It's ok."

The two continued their way through the crowded halls, eventually arriving at the administration office. He followed his aunt and shyly stood behind her as she approached a secretary's desk.

"Hey, June, is Mrs. Kline ready to see me?" The secretary nodded and began exchanging pleasantries with his aunt. Alfred tuned them out and looked around the office. There were two other secretaries there, busying themselves with work. He spotted a cushioned bench and took a seat, fiddling with the backpack his aunt had bought him, filled with new, un-used supplies. He looked down at his feet, clad in brand new, bright red converse that actually fit his feet, instead of pinching his toes, or being a size to big like his usual foot wear.

He never knew how nice it was to wear clothes and shoes that actually fit him.

"Alfred?" He looks up to meet his aunt's gaze.

"I'm going to speak to the principle first, so you just wait out here, alright?" He smiles and nods and watches as his aunt vanishes behind a door, into a room with people he didn't know. He knew they were probably going to talk about him. But what made him nervous was how much his aunt was going to reveal about him.

'Oh man…' He thinks as he rests his head in his hands. He sits there for what feels like an eternity, but is probably only a few minutes when two people enter. One a middle aged man in a grey track suit, a whistle hanging around his neck and an angry expression on his face. Behind him was a teen, a few years older than Alfred.

He was wearing really tight pants, and he had black gunk around his green eyes, under his bushy eyebrows. He looked at the older boy bemused. He thought only girls wore makeup.

One of the secretaries looked up and sighed when she noticed the man and student.

"What did Arthur do this time, Keith?" She asked exasperated. The man grumbled.

"I found Kirkland smoking on school grounds, again." She sighs again and shakes her head.

"Again? Arthur, you're smarter than this." She scolds. The boy, Arthur, shrugs.

"I'll leave him hear. Send him into Kline." The man orders. The secretary rolls her eyes.

"I know the drill." With that the man left and the secretary gives Arthur a look and points over to the cushioned bench where Alfred sat.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill." Arthur says, in an almost mocking way. Alfred tried to hide his shock at the lack of respect this Arthur guy showed for the adults.

Arthur walks over and sits down on the other end of the bench, but Alfred can still smell the smoke on him. He subtly looks away to keep himself from smelling the scent. Arthur notices this and smirks. He turns his head to get a better look at Alfred, and that's when he recognizes him.

'So… this is Matthew's cousin..'

"Arthur Kirkland." He says, holding his hand out to Alfred, a smirk on his face. The younger teen looked over and smiled brightly, but Arthur could tell he made the boy a little uneasy.

"Hi, I'm Alfred Jones." He places his hand into Arthur and shakes. He pulls his hand away, only for Arthur to tighten his grip slightly to hold him there. Alfred's smile falters a bit.

"Uh.." He doesn't know what to say. Arthur leans in a bit closer.

"You have stunning eyes, Alfred. Has anyone ever told you that?" Arthur asks smoothly, his gaze penetrating Alfred's. Alfred's eyes widen a bit at the compliment and he blushes.

Stunn·ing: adjective \Stun-eeng\

Definition of Stunning

1: Of a strikingly attractive appearance

2: Causing or capable of causing emotional shock or loss of consciousness.

3: A word to use when trying to pick someone up or hit on them.

Also see: Impressive, Astonishing, or Alfred Jones

"I… uh…" He can't get any words out, he's too flustered. Was this flirting? And more importantly, was this a GUY flirting with HIM?

"Well if no one has, it's a shame. You're gorgeous." Arthur says, taking pleasure in Alfred's uncomfort.

"Arthur, play nice." They both look over to the same secretary Arthur had spoken to earlier. Arthur rolled his eyes and sighed. So much for his fun, he thinks as he releases Alfred's hand and leans against the wall. Alfred looks at the woman and smiles at her, a silent thank you.

"So, you're new here, I assume?" Arthur asks after a few moments of silence. Alfred hesitantly looks over at Arthur, but the older boy isn't even looking at him. He's staring at his nails, picking away at the black polish on them.

"Yeah, I am. I just… moved here." Alfred said non to convincingly. He was a terrible liar. For some reason Arthur smirked, as if he knew something. Which he did, but Alfred didn't know that.

Before anything more could be said, the door to the principal's office opened, Alfred's aunt Meryl stood in the doorway and gestured for Alfred to come in. As Alfred stood, she noticed Arthur and smiled in a friendly manner.

"In trouble again, Arthur?" She says playfully. Arthur smirks.

"You know me, I can't be tamed." Meryl laughs and Alfred watches the exchange, bewildered. His aunt knew this strange guy? He chooses not to comment and enters the office. There at the desk sits a plump older woman, either late fifties or early sixties in a tasteful pant suit. A young, perky looking woman, probably in her thirties stood next to the desk, a pile a packets in her arms. Meryl closes the door and guides him to sit down in one of the chairs in front of the principal's desk, taking a seat next to him.

"Alfred, this is the principal, Mrs. Kline, and one of the schools counselors, Mrs. Gomez." She gestures to each of the women, who in turn smile kindly at him.

"Hi." He wishes he could turn on his charm but he's too nervous. He's also a little shaken from some guy trying to flirt with him and then the same guy acts all chummy with his aunt.

"It's nice to meet you, Alfred." There was a pause before Kline continued. "Your aunt has informed us of your… unique situation." He looks over at his aunt anxiously. Meryl smiles and squeezes his knee in comfort.

"Since we're unable to get a hold of any kind of past records or transcripts of your academic history, I've had Mrs. Gomez prepare some standardized tests. This way we can know what level you're at in each subject, and can put you in the right classes." Mrs. Kline's voice was stern, but had a warm quality that comforted Alfred, despite the fact that what she was saying, overwhelmed him greatly. He looked again at the packets in Mrs. Gomez's arms, figuring those were his tests.

"You should be able to have them finished by after lunch, if you start them at 8:30, then we can work out your schedule and show you around the school." Alfred nodded, and they continued to talk, talking about school rules and policies, and other things Alfred never had to worry about before.

And before he knew it, his aunt was hugging him goodbye and the guidance counselor was setting him up to take his tests in a conference room.

Today was going to be a long day.

As Alfred finished each section of his tests, Mrs. Gomez would take them away to grade them. He was currently on his last section. It was English, probably his worst subject. He grumbled and finished it off, putting down his pencil and stretching out his limbs, grimacing at the cracks they made. He craned his neck and looked at the clock on the wall. 12:00 on the dot.

The bubbly counselor came in again and smiled as she took the test.

"Good, you're done! Are you hungry? Because I can bring in a bag lunch for you while we correct your last section." Alfred smiled and nodded.

"That'd be awesome, thank you!" She smiled again, and left. Leaving him alone in the room.

He sighed and tapped his pencil on the table top boredly. His eyes felt so sore and his brain fried. Three and a half hours he'd spent taking tests. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the table. He just wants to curl up on that giant bed at home.

Just when he felt his mind relaxing, about to sleep, the door opened again and in came Mrs. Gomez with a brown bag and a carton of milk. She plopped the items down on the table, said something that Alfred didn't catch and left the room.

He fiddled through the bag and found a red apple, an egg salad sandwich and a bag of chips.

As he ate the food he thought about what it would be like to go to school with kids his age. He wondered if it would be like it was on the tv shows and movies he would watch with Toris as a kid.

Would there be a jock that was secretly sensitive and deep? Would there be a nerdy girl who was actually hot once you took off her glasses? What about the spoiled rich kid who wants nothing more than to be loved?

Was any of it real? Or was it just made up by Hollywood?

Before he could contemplate any longer, Gomez was back to escort him back to Kline's office. He nervously takes a seat and twiddles his thumbs.

"No need to be nervous, Alfred. You did very well. In fact, your math and science was through the roof. Very advanced for someone your age. So we wanna put you in the senior and junior level courses. Advanced pre calculus and physics. The rest of your courses, like English and social studies, will be at freshmen level, with the rest of your grade level. We've also put you in the freshman P.E and Health classes. And for your last period, you have a study hall. If you want we can change it to an extras curricular, but we recommend you keeping the study hall, to make things easier on you."

Not knowing what to say, Alfred smiled.

"Sounds great!"

Arthur always found it amusing when Coach Keith Brookens found him smoking. The old fart would go red with angry, puff his cheeks, flare his nostrils, and act as if he were actually intimidating. Like he fucking cared if he got detention. Kline usually let him off with a warning, knowing he was a good student and didn't want to ruin his chances of going to college by dirtying his file.

He looked around the hall. It was his lunch period, so he was looking for Elizaveta or Francis or any of his friends to eat with. He spotted Matthew by his locker and walked over.

"Hey, Matthew. How has your day been? Any estranged cousins show up out of the blue?" Arthur asked, his voice playful and teasing. Matthew sighed.

"Haha, you're so funny, Arthur." Matthew said, deadpanned. Arthur smirked.

"I ran into your cousin this morning. You didn't mention that he was starting school this week." Matthew closed his locker.

"I know… I meant to, but… I just was hoping if I ignored the problem it would go away…" Matthew mumbled as the two began to walk towards the cafeteria.

"So, you met Alfred, huh? What'd you think of him?" Matthew asked. Arthur shrugged. He knew Matthew disliked his cousin. He told him so that day after church. After he revealed the mystery of his doppelganger, he proceeded to rant about how he thought his cousin was an idiotic, uncouth, tool. Well he was right about the uncouth part, but Arthur wasn't so sure about the other two.

"He was alright." He said, shrugging, deciding it best to not get into it. Matthew certainly would not wanna hear about how he flirted with his cousin and found it cute when the blue eyed boy had become flustered.

The shy boy eyed Arthur suspiciously.

"You think he's cute, don't you." Matthew asked, although it was more of an accusation than a question.

Arthur smirked and rolled his eyes.

"You know me so well." He said sarcastically. Matthew shook his head but smiled.

"I guess I can't blame you… Hell, maybe it's for the best." Matthew said. Arthur quirked a brow.

"How so?"

"Well, maybe if Francis sees that you're interested in Alfred, he'll back off and not make any moves." Matthew said hopefully. Arthur smiled, but couldn't help looking at Matthew skeptically.

"Yeah, maybe." He says, not wanting to crush his friends hope. Matthew sighed, knowing Arthur didn't agree.

"You're right. If it has four limbs and a heart beat, Francis will hit on it no matter who else is interested." He says glumly.

So yeah. There it is! Alfred and Arthur finally meet! Awww! Tell me what you think! I love to hear your opinions and criticisms! Anyway, til next time, my dear! Although I don't know when that'll be… Hopefully soon! I also hope to update Real Life soon as well as post a new one shot. Sorry again for the wait, I feel awful!