Loving The Enemy ( America x Russia )

Chapter Eleven ~ America

Sitting next to Arthur, I swivel back and forth in my spiny chair.

"Sit still you git!" Arthur hisses into my ear. We are at a world meeting and I am awfully bored.

"Dude! When is this going to be over?" I whisper yell back at him. Ludwig was standing across from me, talking about pollution or something like that.

I obviously wasn't listening.

"You're such a child! Sit still, shut up, and can you please grow up and stop acting like a child!" With this loud whisper rant from Arthur, he and I receive some looks from the other countries. Arthur was getting annoyed with me, I could tell by the way his bushy eyebrows furrowed over his green eyes.

I'm not a child. I'm 19! I just have a fresh look on things... You old fart. I want to do what's best for my country and my people! But these boring meetings aren't helping with any if that! No one ever listens to me though! They think that just because I'm young, I'm a child and don't know what I'm talking about! So then I try to be loud and catch their attention and they say I'm being annoying! How will I ever show them what I'm capable of? How will I show them that I want to help?

I sigh in frustration and from across the table Ludwig looks at me, "Hey." It doesn't sound like him, but when I look to either side of me, all the other countries have vanished and it's just Ludwig and I in the conference room.

"Y-yeah dude what's up?"

He must not have heard me as hey yells my name, "Alfred!"

So, I yell back at him, slowly standing up, "What? I already asked you want you want!"

But he doesn't listen to me and he yells "WAKE UP!" His thundering voice shakes the table, and I'm confused by why he told me to wake up.

I am awake...

But before I can tell Ludwig this, my face suddenly begins to burn and I close my eyes trying to wipe at my face, and when I open them, I'm in Ivan's basement.

What the hell was that all about?

Hot coffee drips down my face, and I sit there stunned. Thats when the memories of last night hit me and my old fear crawls back to me like death.

I can't keep my hands from shaking as Ivan addresses me. "Good morning Alfred. Did you learn your lesson?"

I don't reply, I'm worried I'll say the wrong thing and he might do something. Ivan truely is incredibly strong.

"Not talking? Dat's okay. You need a shower." With that, Ivan walks behind me and unties the rope from my hands.

The skin underneath is raw and bloody. I don't dare touch it. I sit there for a moment not fully comprehending what he said.

"Did you not hear me? Dere is a badroom connected to your bedroom. Take de shower." He stared down at me, and within seconds I was out of the chair and scrambling up the stairs.

Reaching my room, I close the door behind me and slowly walk to the bathroom. I peel off my disgustingly wet clothes, and drop them in a messy pile on the floor.

I turn on the shower head, after several minutes of trying to work it, and step in letting the hot water cascade down onto me.

Why am I so scared of Ivan? I should be a hero! Its what the old Arthur would have wanted. Not for me to be some sniffling wimp. I have to be strong.

I let my thoughts tumble around as I wash every centimeter of my body thoroughly. I step out of the shower, pulling a towel around my waist, and notice my clothes are gone.

But I also see there are gray sweat pants and a tan tee-shirt on the counter of the sink. I slip these on, having nothing else to wear.

Walking into the bedroom, I sit on the queen sized bed and contemplate what has happened in the last twenty four hours.

And thats when I remember. My flower was in my bomber jacket pocket.

The clothes I am fine with loosing, I have plenty more at home, but that flower took me days to find, and I can't afford to waste more time looking for another one!

Quickly, but cautiously, I walk out of my room and down the hall to the kitchen. "Hey Ivan you here?"

No answer. I look through the living room, dinning room, the basement ( avoiding the room I was already in today ), a training room, an office, and finally end up back at my room.

No sight of Ivan.

But there is one place I didn't check. His bedroom. I guess it is the closed door at the end of the hallway.

I slowly walk to said door, dreading what I may find, and knock lightly on the door.

I don't here anything so I open the door slowly, "Ivan you in here?"

What I see shocks me to no end.

Ivan stands with his back to me in front of a mirror.

Shirt and gauze off.

He really is extremely muscular, but that's not what shocks me. All across his neck, chest, and back there are ugly gray and pink scars that criss-cross all over haphazardly.

The ones on his back are a little pink, and look like the could have come from a whip. The ones on his neck are splochy, like a rope was constantly ribbing on him, just like my wrists. His chest is a bit of a hodgepodge of short and long, thick and narrow, gray and pink, and old and somewhat new scars. You could still see it was a chest, but at least a third of his skin was damaged in some way.

He hears me, and turns around. Ivan's face immediantly burns red, and I can't tell if it's embarrassment or anger. But as he makes a move to come closer, I decide I don't want to find out. Subsequently, I fall back out of the door closing it behind me.

I can hear movement behind it and before the Russian has the chance to open the door, I bolt down the hallway and close my own bedroom door behind me. I slip to the floor and sit with my back to the door, hands trembling.

I can hear his footsteps coming down the hall, and I pray he walks past my room, but I go unheard. The steps stop at my door.

"Alfred, open de door."

~AN~
Sorry this one is kind of late xD I hope you all understand tho that technology is a pain in my butt. Well, but I finally was able to rewrite this chapter! Although I'm not sure I like this one as much... I don't know. I would feel more comfortable with the old version, but nothing I can do now. Thank you all for reading and sweet dreams!
~Blü~

BTW:
Ivan = Russia
Alfred = America