"Come on, Mattie, it's just a party! Nothing bad will happen!" Alfred grinned as he yelled upstairs to his brother. "And if something does happen, I'll come save you! Since I'm the hero and all…"

As the American slipped on his jacket, he heard Matthew shuffling around in his bedroom.

"Alfred, for the love of god will you ever shut up? I'm sleeping!" Matthew bawled back, he had wanted nothing to do with the party from the start. Considering that the host was Francis, Nothing good would ever come of it.

"You wouldn't let the hero down, would you? Please, don't make me go on my own!" The American whined and groaned with his voice carrying what could have been called a sulk. It clearly wasn't, though. Alfred had dignity, and a lot of it. He was about to give up, until Matthew stomped his way downstairs with a furious scowl.

"I thought you were in bed, Mattie?"

"I was."

"In jeans?"

Matthew growled and smacked his idiot brother across the back of his head. He found himself asking himself why he had to deal with this obnoxious idiot he called his sibling. With a tired sigh, the Canadian picked up his hoodie and threw it over his head.

"I'll go, but you seriously owe me." Matthew glared at his brother, who only smiled and winked back at him with triumph.

"Don't worry, if you get too drunk I'll be happy to carry you home!"

"Jackass…"

With his arms crossed in the passenger seat, Matthew sighed as Alfred pulled up in Francis's driveway in his wonderful flashy car. A Lamborghini Gallardo which was almost too ostentatious even for the arrogant American. There was little space to park, considering a lot of other nations had already arrived. Nonetheless Alfred managed to cram his Lambo between a huge black Jeep owned by Ludwig and a sparkling white Nissan Micra, which could only belong to Kiku considering there was a katana in the backseat.

The large aristocratic house looked rather odd, partially because the Frenchman had it painted a deep red, and that the garden was full of roses and only roses. It looked like something from Downton Abbey, but a little more sleazy.

Matthew gulped, knowing this would only lead to another night of invisibility and boredom. As Alfred had already stepped out of the car, he kindly opened the door for his brother.

"C'mon bro, we're already late as it is," the American smiled as Matthew stepped out of the car.

"That's because you couldn't decide on which shoes to wear, idiot…"

While Alfred had decided to wear a simple white shirt, black pants and some newly shined shoes, Matthew had gone for less formal attire. The Canadian had thrown on a band t-shirt (Three Days Grace, nothing fancy there), tight red jeans and fairly worn black converse shoes. Basically, he'd gone dressed as an emo-kid, but the evenings previous antics had left him feeling like one. He preferred staying in his room, listening to angsty music and spamming random bullshit in online chat rooms that people paid attention to than going out and being completely ignored.

"Bro, you're way underdressed…" Alfred smiled uneasily, locking his car up before heading to the entrance.

"This is Francis we're talking about here, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone was naked," Matthew smirked, receiving a giggle from Alfred in return for such a brilliant comment.

As the idiot blonde reached forward to knock on the front door, it flew open, and Feliciano, who was completely naked, burst out and sprinted off behind a bush.

"Don't tell Germany I'm here, for the love of pasta!"

Both Matthew and Alfred were stunned, but nodded, not sure what type of party this was going to be. The two brothers stepped into the house, which was less Downton Abbey and more The Only Way Is Essex. Antique baroque furniture had been replaced with all things stylish and modern. There wasn't much colour, Black and white being the main theme, with occasional touches of red. There was a lot of glass too, which would probably be smashed up by morning considering the scale of the party. The Frenchman had stupidly invited absolutely everyone, even peter and Raivis, who probably weren't even old enough to get drunk. Francis had a lot of alcohol too, bearing in mind that all he ever drinks is wine, and huge amounts of it.

Alfred raised a brow and looked at Matthew, who simply shrugged and followed his brother. The two had to follow the sound of loud R'n'B music, which was unlike Francis. Alfred was first to step into the main room where everyone was, with Matthew following close behind like a sheep. The flashing lights and the fact the music was so loud that the floor was vibrating made the Canadian feel rather sick.

"Hey! Alfred! You brought Mattie!"

Out of nowhere, Francis appeared behind them, and could only be described as looking as wonderfully stylish as ever. He'd tied some hair back, thrown on a loose shirt and some black dress pants, which hugged his hips perfectly. Matthew blushed as the Frenchman ruffled his hair, seeming rather pleased that he decided to show up. With a wink, Francis gently nudged Alfred with his elbow.

"You should drag him out more often, hmm? You never know, maybe he'll finally get laid tonight," As Alfred and Francis laughed and joked at his expense, Matthew flushed scarlet. Sure, he was a virgin, but that didn't bother him at all. Plus, it wasn't like he loved anyone. He'd had crushes of course, but instead of risking inevitable rejection, he ignored his feelings and pretended that the person didn't even exist. It wasn't like they'd ever know anyway, or acknowledge his existence. Before his thoughts started to get bitter, Matthew left his brothers side and headed over to the bar, where Francis had hired Antonio to serve drinks. There was very few nations sitting there, but Matthew went for the bar stool that was the most isolated. It took a few moments, but the Spaniard eventually noticed the Canadian, and with an unsure smile he began to strum his fingers on the counter.

"Don't tell me… um… It'll come to me eventually… erm… You represent Canadia or something, right?" The Spaniard exclaimed with confidence. Matthew rolled his eyes with a sarcastic smile and laughed it off, he was used to such a mistake.

"It's Canada, my name's Matthew."

"Oh! Yeah, I remember now!" He lied so convincingly that the Canadian could have almost believed him. "So Matthew, what's your poison?"

"Excuse me…?"

The Spaniard looked at him with slight disbelief, and laughed to himself as he tried to explain.

"It means 'What do you want to drink?', you don't get out much do you?"

The Canadian nodded shyly. He'd been on nights out before, with Arthur and his brother, but he didn't drink much. Plus, alcohol didn't appeal to him. He disliked how it often burned your throat, or left a horrible taste in your mouth. Despite this, he was at least going to try something.

"I'm not sure… I don't really like alcohol that much. Uh… surprise me," The blonde nation smiled, not sure if a surprise was such a good idea. Nonetheless Antonio seemed sensible enough, and the Canadian could only hope he didn't conjure anything lethal up. The Spanish man thought hard, trying to think of something that would work. As a wide range of cocktails flicked through his mind, one called 'Maple Leaf' seemed perfect. It wasn't all that strong or bitter, considering that maple syrup was one of the main components. He didn't know much about Canada, but he certainly knew that maple syrup was popular there. Without further contemplation, Antonio quickly mixed up the concoction and slid it across the counter towards Matthew.

"Here, I think you're gonna like it," Antonio grinned with certainty, and with a 'thank you' Matthew warily picked up the glass and took a sip. Much to the his surprise, it went down well. It only slightly heated his throat, and the taste of maple syrup mixed with the other drinks was brilliantly different.

"Th-this is wonderful, thank you," As Matthew paid for the drink, he was blissfully aware that someone else had arrived for the party.