No Connection (GerIta, SpaMano)

Prologue (kind of like a chapter but-)

Gilbert was more than just thrilled. Finally highschool was over. Not that he was looking forward to it. These three years passed quite quickly, full of happiness, sadness, excitement, disappointment, courage, fright. He was one of the most popular boys, surrounded by friends, going to parties, pulling pranks, answering back at the teachers, but in the end he was happy only when with Toni and Francis. That was when the real fun was.
Francis and Antonio, however, didn't mind so much. Their highschool life was fun, and they loved those moments when they felt alive. Only, in contrast to Gilbert, they enjoyed every moment of their life and they made everything special to them. Their lives were made by small and big moments, and this was one of them. Happiness was usual for Francis and Antonio, but never enough. They tried to seize and enjoy every second. But who could blame them anyway?

"So now what? We need to move on! It's a new beginning, can't you see?" Antonio said and smiled brightly. In his homeland in Spain, he would always be outside in the tomato fields, carefree and innocent. When his family moved out of the country because they had little money, he was very sad and only thought about his old friends and his cousins, Emma and Vander, who were his best friends and they stayed there for some more years. He didn't like the new environment. It was hard for him to adapt to the city life. He would have gotten depressed if it wasn't for the Prussian and the French. They all were new and they took advantage of it, being known later as the Bad Touch Trio.

"Ja, but what do you suggest? I want to go to university, and you will come with the awesome me. No objections allowed!" Gilbert said and sat on the floor next to Antonio. Gilbert grew up with his grandparents, mostly his mother's father, Old Fritz. His parents worked a lot so their family had a quite luxurious life. Old Fritz loved the kids like a parent, and especially Gilbert. He would always tell him stories, the best ones. Stories with dragons, knights, kingdoms and magic. And when Gilbert felt sad or disappointed about himself, Old Fritz  would tell him he was awesome and he actually believed it. To the old man's eyes, Gilbert was the most awesome kid. To Gilbert, Old Fritz was someone to love and look up to. Old Fritz was Prussian, and so Gilbert claimed he was Prussian too. Ludwig however always thought of himself as another German, but he loved his grandpa as well. Also, since nobody would ever be strict to him, Gilbert grew up to be immature and free-spirited, and Ludwig was the mature one, the one who at least tried to keep his brother under control. Everyone thought Ludwig was older because of that, but that was not the case.

"I know there is a university here" Francis said absently while sitting with the other two. He used to live in France, but he wanted to move because of personal reasons. A foul-mouthed Englishman, whose name he didn't even want to recall, that was.

"Yeah but I don't like it, they say the teachers are very strict" The Spaniard replied. "Another one in about ten miles is good, but it's far, isn't it?"

"Oui, I can't travel that far every day."

"We could move! Ludwig wants us to live closer to his new highschool, two towns away. He told me that if I decide to continue my studies, I should go there. He must have reason!" Gilbert interrupted loudly and with excitement.

"Si! The four of us could move at a small apartment or something there! Besides, Emma and Vander live around and attend that highschool too! They might know just the right place! Plus the university there is one of the best I've heard." Antonio laughed.

"Is it a deal then?" Gilbert smirked and looked at the other two.

"Yes!" They both shouted and cheered.

"I'll tell Ludwig. By the way, where is he?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

"I think he said he would get us food. I hope he gets pizza, I love pizza!" Antonio smiled. Just then, the door opened and Ludwig came in.

"I brought thai food. A new thai restaurant opened near the park" The blonde German said and put the bags he carried carefully on the table.

"Hey Lud! Guess what; we're moving!" Gilbert shouted and Ludwig looked at the trio quizzically.

"I'm going to call Emma to find something for us right away! It's only the three months of summer left, we have to subscribe to the university, move to that house... There's so much to be done. At least you have already subscribed to that highschool, haven't you?" Antonio turned to him.

"Ja. If you mean the one I mean"

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Francis asked.

"Why not?" Antonio replied and reached for his phone. "I think it is" he smiled and dialed Emma's number. "Hola!" He yelled and started talking in spanish. The talk lasted about five minutes.

"What did she say?" Francis approached.

"She said she'll look for something online or at the newspaper" he replied cheerfully and smiled reassuringly. "So... Let's stop overthinking it! It's summer!" He cheered and the rest followed.
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A month later...

The smartphone with the tomato case rang. Nobody was around to pick it up. The four were at the beach, Antonio was swimming, Gilbert was eating an ice-cream, Francis was flirting with some girls that were giggling and blushing, and Ludwig was feeling out of place so he sat at a bar and got something to eat. The phone rang again, still laying at the sand, unnoticed. As Ludwig decided to go and check if someone had stolen something from their stuff, he heard a familiar spanish song play and immediately recognised it as Antonio's ringtone. He didn't pick it up on time, and when he slid his finger over the lockscreen he saw two missed calls from Emma, both very very recent. He called her back. "Hola Toni!" Her sweet and happy voice came from the tiny speaker.

"I'm not Antonio. He's swimming" Ludwig replied and let out a weak sigh.

"Ludwig? Oh! I called to let you know about the house"

"House?" He couldn't figure out what she meant.

"Yeah, Antonio had called a few weeks ago and asked me to look for a house for the four of you. I found something that might be interesting! Can you write what I'll tell you down?"

"Now I remember... Ja, tell me" he said as he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen he had found earlier on the sand.

"Ok! I have five. Number one... " she gave Ludwig the addresses of five places, three of which were for rent and two on sale. The four of them were appartments, and the other one was a part of a semi-detached house. "I wouldn't recommend that one" Emma said about it.

"Hm? Why not? As you said, it's big and furnished but very cheap. Even if it's on sale. It'll be better if we bought a house since we'll be staying there for a long time"

"Exactly! It looks... suspicious. Think of it! If it really was like that, wouldn't it be more expensive? Everything about it is perfect. But the price doesn't fit! And I don't think it's a typo."

"Now that you mention it... I'll discuss it with the others and let you know. It's not my choice anyway"

"Alright, see ya later then!" she said and hang up. Ludwig looked at the five options Emma had given them one by one. Clearly the last one was the best. The money was very few for it and Emma had mentioned that from the picture it looked lovely. He wondered if he shouldn't risk it and decide on one of the appartments. They all had enough room for four men, but they were rather expensive. It was not surprising. The area was said to be very beautiful.

"Hey, is anything bothering you?" Francis approached him.

"Emma called. She has some houses for us. A specific one sounds too good." He replied.

"Oh, vraiment? That's very good news mon ami!" Francis said smiling. Ludwig just nodded. He decided to think more about it later.