Warning - please read: Just a quick warning, that in the later part of this chapter there will be a song that I myself wrote. I advise you not to read it, for it is really, really, really bad and will ruin your enjoyment of the chapter (if you enjoy it at all). I just put it there because, hey, I needed to fill up space, and I struggled to write about a song that wasn't there...if you know what I mean. All you need to know is that the lyrics are (meant to be) lovely and tender, and it butters up Arthur, so...yeah...Avoid the song, people. Thanks for reading this, now proceed!

Musical Differences

Chapter 3

"So…" Arthur nodded at the building before them, "McDonald's?"

"Yup!" Alfred nodded too, at himself and his choice of restaurant, "McDonald's."

Arthur looked at him for a bit, but then turned to look again at the attention-seeking, big, yellow 'm' and the dull brown bricks framing the windows. In such wide windows Arthur could see people – mothers, daughters, fathers, sons – of all ages –children and adults alike – all filing into the restaurant which nobody really classed as a restaurant, all of them wanting for food to be hurriedly made with far too much salt on their chips and far too much fat in generally everything so that they could hurriedly shove it in their gobs when they weren't busy talking to others about meaningless things and then proceed to hurriedly leave the restaurant. Arthur didn't much like McDonald's. Not for the greasy food and equally greasy tables, or for having to queue with all kinds of people he didn't like, or for the rushed feel you felt when dining there, but primarily for the fact that the attention-seeking, big, yellow 'm' wasn't capitalised (or at least didn't look it).

Arthur begrudgingly made his way into the godforsaken building behind Alfred, not really knowing why. He could just bid the American and this American food industry goodbye, turn around, and walk out back to his house to enjoy a spot of tea and finger sandwiches. He could even sneak away from the possible-stalker and tip-toe across the greasy tiled floor of McDonald's, dodging the signs telling him to be careful and mind the slippery floor, and then scurry out of the door quickly. But he didn't. Instead, for no rhyme or reason, he found himself joining the queue alongside Alfred and listening as he decided between having a cola or a milkshake alongside his Big Mac.

"You could do with a little less feeding." Arthur scoffed aloud, thinking of the American stereotype where they were all fat, if not obese.

"No way, man!" Alfred had laughed at the comment, "I work out like a champion!"

Arthur contemplated this as they placed their order, and he wondered if Alfred managed to not follow the American stereotype and actually stay thin due to his stalking activities. Was stalking good for calorie loss? It did consist of a lot of walking and running around after your prey, so it was very active indeed. But then Arthur wondered why he was thinking of such things, and his thoughts drifted away like yesterday's newspaper in the wind.

Alfred went to sit at a window seat, dumping his overflowing tray of food (which, Arthur noted with disgust, was all for himself) on the table and beckoning Arthur over with a winning smile. Arthur eyed up the seat opposite for a moment, but then shrugged and sat down two tables away from the now mortified American. Just because Arthur went to lunch with him didn't mean he had to have lunch with him. Maybe if he finished his food faster than him too (which he probably would, seeing as all he had ordered was a small cheeseburger, small chips and a tea whilst Alfred had a whole tray of food) then he could quickly leave the "restaurant" before him and never have to dwell in his presence or wonder why he was dwelling in his presence. When he thought about it though, he hadn't done such dwelling voluntarily – Alfred had initiated it again.

Arthur flinched as a fry hit his head, and he turned to furrow his brows and snarl at the executor of the attack. Alfred ignored the daggers being glared at him and tried to usher Arthur over with a wave of his hand. Arthur merely unwrapped his cheeseburger, not paying attention. It was disgusting. The cheese was melting and oozing out over the side, as if it had once been a witch and then had water chucked on it, and the green lettuce leaves had been bombarded with mayonnaise and ketchup, all of it dripping out from the middle of the buns which were damp with grease. But his stomach rumbled, so he took a deep breath and took a bite out of the disgusting contents.

This time a ball of screwed-up paper hit him, and he again looked across at Alfred, who, despite his cheeks bulging like a hamster's as he chewed his food, had a distinguishable pleading look on his face. Arthur sighed, since this was probably not going to stop for a while, and moved closer by a table. Now there was a three foot gap between them, and Arthur raised his eyebrows at the American so as to ask "Is this close enough?" Alfred shook his head, crumbs flying around with the movement, and pointed at the seat across from him. Arthur held up his middle finger at him, earning a chuckle.

"There are kids around, Artie."

"That's not my name."

Alfred chuckled again as Arthur continued to force down the American cuisine. They sat eating in silence for a bit, with Alfred offering chips to the Englishman with salted fingers and Arthur declining every time. They continued like that until a girl approached them, fiddling with her red-ribbon bound dark pigtails and fluttering her eyelashes whilst her friend played with her own short blonde hair decorated with a purple ribbon.

"Um, excuse me," coughed the darker girl, "can we, um…sit here?" Arthur looked around at the restaurant. Despite it being full of people desperately trying to get their hands on some cuisine, a lot of those people were taking away rather than eating in, leaving many empty tables. So why did the girls choose here? He looked across at Alfred, who was smiling charmingly at the girls and nodding his head, "Of course". The girls hastily whispered to one another as the darker girl pulled up the seat across from Alfred and the blonde was left with the seat across from Arthur. Now he knew why, as the darker girl leant forwards and offered her dainty hand to Alfred.

"Hi, I'm Sesel." Alfred wiped his salty fingers on his jeans before taking her hand, exclaiming "how do you do", "And this is my friend, Lily. She's an exchange student from Liechtenstein. Exciting, huh?"

"Oh, totally!" Alfred replied, "That's that small place next to Switzerland, huh? Is the food nice there?" Arthur laughed silently, Trust the American to think about food. Lily just nodded her head, continuing to play with her blonde locks, her hands shaking nervously. Sesel laughed.

"Don't mind her; she's just a bit shy."

Alfred nodded in understanding, "I won't bite, hakuna matata!"

"Oh," squealed Sesel, "I love that Disney movie! Actually, my grandparents were from Africa, you know, where it's based. The island of Seychelles!"

"Seychelles? No offense, I've never heard of it. What's it like?"

"Oh, I went there just last summer! You see, it's a bit like…"

Arthur stopped listening to the conversation. It was just going to be mindless drivel from the mouth of another mindless girl. He was a bystander in that conversation – just an onlooker – for the only person she was focused on was Alfred, and it wasn't hard to see why, with his golden tan to match his golden hair, and his blue eyes glowing above his pearly white teeth. His colours were like that of the beaches Sesel was currently going on about.

Arthur looked across at Lily and felt sorry for her getting left behind in her shyness, and he offered his food to her. She squeaked in surprise as the cuisine was pushed towards her. "I don't really want it. Do you like this kind of food?"

Lily shakily nodded her head, like a bobbing-head ornament sitting in a moving car, "Y-yes, I don't mind it." He watched with a smile as she hesitantly nibbled a chip, a blush present on her face.

"So, how does it feel being in England? Feeling a bit of culture shock?"

She smiled warily back at him, "Oh, just a bit. See, the people act so different, and I'm a bit wary as to how to behave still. My brother was worried about me too…"

Arthur chuckled. "Just don't act like this buffoon, okay?" he said, gesturing to Alfred with his thumb. Another chip was thrown at his head, making Lily and Sesel laugh.

"You're just jealous because I'm awesomer than you!"

"At least I'm bloody literate." Arthur frowned, hurling the chip back at Alfred and smiling with sadistic glee as it bonked him on the nose.

"Hey! I'm literate!"

"Of course." Arthur breathed, "That must be why you said "awesomer" just now." Sesel and Lily continued to laugh as Alfred's face darkened under a blush.

"Not cool, man. Not cool."

"Yes, I agree, you're not cool, are you?"

Alfred pouted and went back to eating before he dug an even bigger grave for himself. Sesel turned her attention to Arthur now, seeing as he wasn't the moping one. "You two seem really close. How long have you been friends?"

Arthur looked at his watch, "Well…we've now known of each other for a few hours now."

"Really?" Sesel looked flabbergasted, "But you have such good chemistry!"

Arthur groaned, "Please don't say that. You'll get his hopes up." Lo and behold, Alfred's eyes were glimmering, and he was beaming as he looked from Sesel to Arthur and back.

"Do you really think that?" he asked, excitement evident in his tone, "There's really chemistry?"

"Well, I'm studying psychology, so…" she twiddled her fingers, half-nervous, half-delighted about all the attention on her, "…I think this is the sort of behaviour those with chemistry show to one another."

"Abusing each other with chips?" Arthur snorted, and she joined him, tittering.

"I suppose. It's more like you're showing your true self and letting loose. See, when you first met Lily you were being quite nice to her, right?" Arthur nodded, becoming enthralled by the process towards her conclusion, "Well, when…uh…" she turned to Alfred, "How did he act when he met you?"

Alfred sighed, waving a chip around as if hypnotising himself, "Arthur was super rude. He tried to tell me to go away."

Sesel nodded, "Isn't that interesting? How Arthur acts depending on the person? It could just be because of the difference in sex between Alfred and Lily, but it could in fact be that Arthur feels comfortable around you and is able to show his true colours."

Arthur coughed on a chip he had been eating, blushing because that couldn't be right! He looked across at Alfred, who in turn was looking at him, but he had a massive grin on his face. Arthur cringed. Lily tugged at Sesel's arm timidly, dragging the girl from her train of thought.

"Um, it's already time to go, so…"

Sesel looked at her watch and blinked in surprise, nodding. "Oh, right!" she rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a strip of notebook paper and a pen, quickly jotting her number down on it before handing it to Alfred. "Call me, kay?" She giggled as she ran off with Lily in tow, and Alfred waved at them, smiling nicely. Arthur chuckled lightly to himself, but Alfred heard anyway.

"What's so funny?" he asked, puckering his lips like a goldfish.

"Nothing, just thinking about how that must happen to you all the time."

"What happens?" Arthur nodded towards the retreating girls. Alfred pondered for a moment before a light bulb went off in his head, "Oh, that! Yeah, I'm a total lady-killer."

Arthur let out a pffffft and lobbed another chip at Alfred, "Yeah, right! Still, your girlfriend must get worried."

"Hakuna matata," Alfred smiled, trying to make a pyramid out of the ketchup sachets, "I don't have one."

Arthur paused. Normally these golden-boy types with muscles showing even underneath their shirts had a new girlfriend every other month, so he couldn't believe that this man had none. "Oh, I see. Just broke up, or got your eye on anyone?"

"Nah, I had a girlfriend back in D.C, but…things didn't really…work…"

"Oh." Arthur swallowed an overly-salty chip, "Sorry I asked."

"No, it's alright. I'm over it now."

"Yes. And quite a lucky escape for the girl, I must say." Arthur laughed at Alfred's offended face, though it didn't last long before Alfred was laughing with Arthur.

"Screw you, Arthur! What about your relationship status, huh?"

Arthur went to drink his tea, shrugging his shoulders silently, "Single. I don't really care about relationships. That's all there is to it."

Alfred must have realised that Arthur wasn't going to say much more on the subject, because he didn't continue to press on about it. In all honesty, Arthur did want a relationship in future, but he had learnt from past experiences that they could be very…distracting, to say the least, and so, he had vowed to not become involved with anyone until after he had finished his education. He was going to be diligent this time around! However, if he admitted that he would be looking for someone in future then he could imagine Alfred bringing an array of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes to his door (Alfred seemed the type to do something so barbaric), and he certainly wanted to avoid that. So he allowed for Alfred to go on about wooing people without much complaint.

"That sure was fun, right?" Alfred asked as he strode beside Arthur.

"Hmm? What was?"

"Don't play dumb!" Alfred pouted, "You know, hanging out together and stuff."

"Well, actually you kind of just followed me."

"Well who was the one who followed me to MickyD's?" Arthur flinched at that. He had indeed followed Alfred to McDonald's. And he had no excuse. So he just remained silent as they approached his door.

"We should do this again sometime." Alfred exclaimed, shoving his foot in between the frame and the door before Arthur could close it, "Maybe I could get your number this time."

Arthur snarled at Alfred as he freed his foot from being crushed by the door, "I'd rather not."

"Oh, please!" Alfred puckered his lips and fluttered his eyelashes, "Don't you remember? We have chemistry!"

The door was slammed in Alfred's face once again. He stood there a while longer, hoping that Arthur would open up again in a second and burst out, "Of course we can exchange numbers! Oh, we're going to be such good friends!" Alfred laughed at the image – he hadn't known Arthur for long, but he already knew that bursting through a door with a dopey smile on his face isn't something that the Briton would do, so he spun round and trudged off towards his own apartment. Besides, he needed to hurry home and write down the new lyrical ideas for his song he was working on. This day with Arthur had brought him more inspiration, much like he thought it would, and he would be damned if he forgot it all before he could get home and jot it all down.

Arthur groaned as when he opened his front door it revealed Alfred on his porch once again, smiling innocently and rocking on his heels like a child waiting in anticipation for something fun. Arthur began to wonder if this was going to become routine.

"How long have you been here this time?" Arthur sighed as he fiddled with his keys and locked the front door.

"Just half an hour." Alfred replied, continuing to rock back and forth, to and fro.

Arthur straightened out and raised an eyebrow at the childish American, "You know, if you don't stop this then I'm going to file a restraining order."

Alfred just laughed, "Why? We have fun!"

"No." Arthur frowned, "You have fun! I don't know what the bloody hell your deal is, but I have final exams to study for and I don't have time to be distracted by morons like you! I don't give a shit about chemistry – I give a shit about English though, and you are not stopping me from studying! Now piss off before I report you."

Arthur glared at the stunned, no-longer-rocking American for a moment more, daring him to retaliate and warning him to back off, before storming off down the path. He did feel a little bad saying that to Alfred, because he was a nice guy really, but he was putting Arthur off his studies all the same, and Arthur refused to fail. He wouldn't fail again; not this time.

"Arthur!" Alfred called out behind his retreating form, "Arthur, wait, please! I can be quiet! I can be good! Come on, I waited half an hour for you – have a heart!"

"I don't care." Arthur huffed, powering ahead even faster, "Just leave me alone!"

Alfred just stopped and watched as Arthur disappeared into the distance. He frowned, there goes my inspiration.

Arthur smiled as he stretched, admiring his pages and pages of quick notes about certain pieces of text. Yes, it was all going well. There was no stupid Alfred there to interrupt him. Hell, if he was lucky then he might never see that guy again, and he could go back to a normal life of solitude and education. Nothing good came from socialising – they could end up being the wrong sort. He had learnt this from his past. It was better to be alone – safer to be alone. This way he couldn't hurt anyone and no one could hurt him. He could quote Hamlet in peace, disturbing no one and having no one disturb him. It was bliss; it was what he was used to.

Arthur was happy to note as he packed up and left the library that there was no Alfred waiting for him still. Maybe he really had got the message; maybe Arthur really had managed to chase him away. He had done so cruelly, but sometimes you had to be cruel to be kind. He was a waste of Alfred's time, and Alfred was a waste of his, so what was the point? As he walked home and settled down at the kitchen table to sip tea he concluded that there was no point – never was and never would be. Don't feel guilty; feel glad that you saved Alfred from a wasteful time.

Arthur smiled as he sipped, because he was glad. As he sunk into his chair and breathed out contentedly the burden of guilt slipped from his shoulders and out of his mind, and he soon forgot about Alfred altogether.

The next day Arthur managed to go through his usual routine with any interruptions. He had a silent walk to the library, a silent session of studying, a silent walk home, and a silent lunch followed by another silent study session, and then he just relaxed with a piping cup of tea and an interesting book in the evening before turning in to sleep. The next day held the same routine, and then the next, and then the next. Most people who have gotten bored of such repetition, but Arthur relished in it. He liked knowing the how, what and why of his day, and he disdained change.

But change happened again anyway.

He was in the library, and he had stumbled across a word he had never come across before, thus didn't know the meaning of. Exhaling, he got up and out of his seat in search of a dictionary. What with having been in this library so much, it didn't take him long to find the right section. He brushed his fingertips across every weatherworn spine of every book, murmuring their names quickly and quietly to nobody but himself as he passed them, stopping however when he finally reached the dictionary. He grinned triumphantly, glad to be making progress, and pulled it out.

And then dropped it and shrieked as he was met with a pair of big, blue eyes.

"Alfred?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out." the American sheepishly chuckled from the other side of the shelf. Arthur, getting over his shock, picked up the dictionary and stormed round to join Alfred on the other side of the shelf where he folded his arms and glared at the man before him, whom was nervously rubbing his neck and blushing.

"Just what are you doing here?" Arthur snarled, and Alfred seemed to shrink under the Briton's rage.

"N-nothing, just, uh…" Alfred's eye swivelled all around, searching for an excuse no doubt, "…checking out books, y'know. Library and all, so…"

"But you told me you weren't the book type." Alfred visibly shrank again.

"I'm not, I'm not! But, uh…s-song material might be here, y'know."

Arthur hummed suspiciously, "And I suppose you'll find all that material in the section containing books about finance." He jerked his head at the F section they were stood in front of.

Alfred jolted and blushed more, "F-finance? Nah, I was looking at, uh…" he turned his attention to the bookshelf, searched madly for a moment, and then smiled shakily as he brought out a book on felines, "I was looking at material for cat songs. We all love cats! I already got a little something, uh…I love cats, yes I do! I love cats, so do you!"

Arthur narrowed his eyes at Alfred, "Do you honestly think I'm that stupid?"

Alfred stiffened for a moment, but then he sighed and put the book slowly back, "No. Sorry, I was here because…because I…and you were…but I don't mean…I was just-!"

"You were stalking me." Arthur finished for him, disapprovingly.

Alfred frowned and waved his hands about eccentrically, "N-no, I would never do that! I swear I wasn't!"

"Then why do you keep following me around?" Arthur whispered loudly, trying to repress his annoyance for the sake of the library's quietness, "I tell you to leave me alone, yet here you are!"

Alfred blushed redder yet and twiddled with his fingers, looking anywhere but at Arthur, "Because…because you…y-you give me…you give me inspiration for my songs!" he blurted.

There was a pregnant pause where Arthur just stared at Alfred, dumbfounded. But then he managed to speak up in the tone of surprise, "What?"

"I don't really get it either!" Alfred sighed, "But when I'm with you, ideas come to me, when I'm not with you, ideas stay away. And dude, I'm sorry for following you around, but I need these ideas, big time."

Arthur turned a light shade of pink, "You've been writing songs based on…time spent with…me?"

Alfred chuckled and scratched his cheek, "Well, I've just been focusing on one song." he grinned broadly then, "Do…do you wanna hear what I got so far?"

Arthur thought about it for a moment. On one hand, he had told Alfred to leave him alone so he could study, so really he should tell Alfred to piss off again (maybe file that restraining order for real) and get back to work – he wasn't holding the dictionary for pleasure reading after all. On the other hand, it wasn't often that anyone wrote a song based on being with him. Heck, no one had ever written a song concerning him, so maybe, just this once, it would be nice…

Arthur failed to repress a smirk, "Alright, impress me."

Alfred grinned widely, "Cool! I have my guitar here already because I was busking just before, but…uh…I don't think I'll be allowed to play it in here."

Arthur nodded, "Sure, sure. I was going to break for lunch soon anyway. Just let me get my things and we'll head off."

And so, once again, Arthur found himself feeling compelled to follow Alfred, although if he intended to go to McDonald's again then Arthur was putting his foot down. Luckily, it wasn't McDonald's they ended up at, but outside Arthur's front door. When they had reached the porch, Arthur had turned to Alfred and nodded.

"Alright then, play the song."

Alfred rubbed his neck and bit his lip, "I dunno, it would kinda be a public disturbance if I just went ahead and played out here. And some people may even think I'm serenading you or some shit. How about…how about I sing it to you inside your apartment?"

Arthur frowned. He'd prefer McDonald's any day to having a clumsy oaf bumbling around his flat. However, he did want to hear that song, and they'd already made it this far, so he sighed and begrudgingly turned to open the door and let them both in. He continued to grumble about everything and nothing as they made their way up the stairs and past multiple doors until they reached the door of Arthur's own flat. There the Briton hesitantly and slowly turned the key and unlocked the door with a click.

Arthur heard Alfred gasp behind him as they walked in and mutter, "Fancy." Arthur couldn't help but feel his chest swell with pride. He did do a lot to care for his home – hoovering the beige carpets all the time, for his Scottish fold cat, Crumpets, always managed to leave dirty paw prints around. The only reason Arthur put up with this and didn't get a colour darker than beige was so that the carpet would go well with the white walls, which had pieces of art, both colourful and dark, hanging upon them. Arthur had a thing for culture after all, and he found art to be a big part of it, along with books, which there were a lot of bursting from and piling on top of each other on his shelves. Classical books primarily, and he had classical music records stacked up beside his record player, and he would sip tea in his armchair and listen to them.

Arthur sat down in that same armchair and exhaled, "Alright, now impress me."

Alfred snapped out of being mesmerised by how organised Arthur's flat was, "Hmm, what?"

"Sing."

"Oh…oh, yeah!" Alfred snapped his fingers, as if just remembering why he was even there, and turned to unzip his carry case, pulling out a guitar adorned with a sticker of the American flag and his name, Alfred, painted onto the wood in red and blue.

How patriotic, Arthur thought as Alfred pulled the guitar strap around him and steadied it, pulling a guitar pick out of seemingly nowhere and readying it and his fingers at the strings.

Then he began to strum, slow and steady, and the vibrations of the repetitive chords resounded throughout the room, yet had a sense of quiet about them. It appeared that this was going to be a tender song of sorts, and Arthur wondered how Alfred would be inspired by him to write such a song. After a long, gentle instrumental opening, Alfred opened his mouth and began to sing.

Oh, in the cold
I was lost.
I had nothing left to live for.
Tired and hopeless,
I longed for yesterday
And all I had given up on.

It seemed the trees didn't whisper for me,
And the grass didn't whistle and streams lacked a flow.
This restless rest failed tranquillity in me,
And a bright future was not for me to know.

And then there was your face,
An element of grace,
And all that I knew came to a close.
When the time came for goodbye,
I lifted my voice to the sky
And told of you the bright future to come.

Tomorrow, tomorrow;
Until then I'll drown in sorrow,
For I can't see your face
Before the morrow.

Tomorrow, tomorrow
The butterflies will burst forth,
And I'll stay beside you
And your beauty henceforth.

As the instrumental came round again, Arthur found himself gawping, and quickly shut his mouth with his cheeks tinged pink. Alfred had a surprisingly good voice – gorgeous, even. He brought his song to life, with hints of bitterness in his baritone behind the overall feeling of hope bursting from the song. But more than in awe, Arthur was confused. Why would Alfred write a song with such feelings based on his experiences with an admittedly grumpy Briton?

The sun may fall and the moon may rise,
The songbirds quieten and the owl cries
Echo on until the dawn, and then, I promise,

Tomorrow, tomorrow;
Until then I'll drown in sorrow,
For I can't see your face
Before the morrow.

Tomorrow, tomorrow
The butterflies will burst forth,
And I'll stay beside you
And your beauty henceforth.

As another instrumental intervened, Arthur caught himself smiling, although he didn't try to hide it.

In the dusk you seek solace,
And I find myself in despair.
It seems that you are horribly unaware
Of the things you say,
And the things you do,
And how they could differ
From me to you.

But I shall persevere,
And please forgive my greed,
For your grace, though a want,
Is also a need.
So on nights when I am doubting
The suns eventual rise,
And the arms of dusk seem to never
Not embrace the endless skies,

I remind myself this notion,
And know it will come true,
And my past and present and future
Tie along to only you.

Tomorrow, tomorrow;
Until then I'll drown in sorrow,
For I can't see your face
Before the morrow.

Tomorrow, tomorrow
The butterflies will burst forth,
And I'll stay beside you
And your beauty henceforth.

And I'll stay beside you
And your beauty henceforth.

A few more stings plucked, a few more chords played, and then the vibrations of the song faded out to a welcome silence. Silence, until Arthur piped up clapping; his eyes sparkled, as did his teeth as he flashed a crooked grin. Alfred stood up from being bent over the guitar, blushing, and bashfully rubbed the nape of his neck.

"So, did you like it?"

"It was actually rather lovely." Arthur nodded, still clapping, although only lightly now, "But I don't understand how such lovely lyrics could come from spending time with me."

Alfred shrugged, "Neither do I. B-but maybe if you let me write more songs based off inspiration from you then we can find out?"

Arthur stopped clapping now and narrowed his eyes, "Why do you need this inspiration so desperately?"

Alfred frowned and seemed to go sullen, "I've only been able to write a song about you so far, but that's better than absolutely nothing, because if I want to be a musician I have to have songs, right? If I don't make a revolutionary song soon then I'll probably go bankrupt. I'm struggling to pay rent, y'see, and I need this inspiration or else I won't just be busking on the streets anymore – I'll be living on them." he moved forward to get on his knee before the Briton, "Please, Arthur. You're my last hope."

Arthur looked into those sad, blue eyes and felt such sadness burdening his own shoulders. Was Alfred's situation really that bad? He was struggling, he said. Arthur didn't much like the sound of someone struggling, and he did his best to help them. An example of this is when he used to work as a volunteer for charities, until his studies started. Even now, when he had stopped being a volunteer, he felt prone to help those who needed the help. And this was a case of someone needing his help. Desperately, it seemed.

Besides, he daren't say it, but he would like to hear more songs and see what lyrics Alfred could sew together based on time spent with him. Nobody had ever written a song about him before so he supposed an, uh…acquaintanceship…or alliance…or whatever with this Alfred boy wouldn't be all that bad. He realised that his conclusion from before was wrong: he wasn't a waste of Alfred's time; and maybe Alfred wouldn't be a waste of his…

Oh, how he regretted meeting him in that coffee shop.

"Fine, I'll allow you to stalk me." Arthur sighed, and he would have gone on to decline that it was because he felt sorry for and wanted to help Alfred, but he got the wind knocked out of him when the American wrapped him up in a big bear hug, thanking him to the high heavens as he suffocated poor Arthur.

Author's notes: Did you avoid the song like I told you to? Okay, good. XD Anyway, this isn't my best chapter or anything, but it will get better (I hope) - I'm just trying to set everything up for our two lovebirds. ;D Heh. Despite how bad it is, I hope you liked it anyway. Also, sorry if they're out of character - I'm struggling in my desperation to finish this part and get to the good parts.
Also, I think that who Lily and Sesel are is rather obvious, but in case you didn't know:
Lily = Liechtenstein
Sesel = Seychelles
Critique is welcomed, comments are appreciated!
Thank you and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Alfred (America), Arthur (England), Lily (Liechtenstein) and Sesel (Seychelles) belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.

AnorexicWalrus~