Chapter 6: The Day He Would Be Truly Alone

Arthur woke up the next morning feeling lonely and cold. Arthur was confused at this since he normally had either his big teddy bear body pillow or occasionally Francis when he came to check on him and spend the night to cuddle with.

The first thing Arthur noticed about his surroundings was that he wasn't in his own bed or even Francis' bed. And with that realization the memories of the previous night's events came flooding back to him. Arthur bit his lip as he silently began to cry at the thought of Alfred proposing and getting married to someone who would never be him.

Arthur began looking around for Francis, wanting to just ignore the world around him and let his childhood friend cuddle him until it no longer hurt. Arthur soon found him in the doorway of the bathroom, taking on the phone. It only took a few sentences from the Frenchmen for Arthur to realize he was talking to his boyfriend, Matthew.

"I know mon chaton, and I really am sorry I didn't come home last night. Arthur found out about the fact Alfred's thinking about proposing... Yes, he's Ok. He was a bit of a mess, but I took care of him and he's sleeping comfortably right now... Ok then. Have a good day mon lapin~. I'll be home soon." Francis hung up the phone and decided to leave the room to get him and Arthur breakfast.

Arthur smiled bittersweetly. Francis was such an amazing guy when he wanted to be. He's the perfect boyfriend for the shy, sweet little Matthew that could beat you black and blue with a hockey stick if pissed off... But at the same time, Francis' conversation only reminded him how lonely he was. Even his best friend had someone while he had no one. More tears streamed down Arthur's face, the blond-haired brit knowing that as soon as the kindhearted, adorable and already extremely tolerant of him Matthew got tired of lending Francis to him, that's when he would be truly alone... That is if he wasn't already.

Arthur's life, feelings towards Alfred, and altogether emotions only became more complicated and confused as the year and semester went on. At first, things seemed to be going well with Arthur now being allowed to take four pills a day, taking advantage of that extra time to follow Oliver's advice and begin to integrate his way back into Alfred's life from where he had drifted off to the sidelines once the disease had manifested itself. They became much closer friends over the month of November, giving Arthur hope that one day Alfred could love him just as much back.

Arthur went to visit his family in London over the Thanksgiving holiday, the break from school and visit to the city he would always think of as home doing him a lot of good. No matter how many times he'd seen them Arthur always loved visiting England's landmark and tourist attractions. He rather enjoyed the pretty sights and seeing people fawn over the city he loved so much as well as his accent. He'd missed his family and was happy to see them again, though they did scold him and Francis—Francis and Matthew having gone with him to see Francis' family as well as Arthur's—for how much weight Arthur had lost since he'd last been home, Arthur for not eating enough and Francis for not making sure he'd eaten enough.

Arthur didn't care to explain to them why he'd been eating less, though his family already knew, they all knew. They'd learned about Arthur's illness very soon after it developed and had only relented on their insisting he get the surgery when he became part of the drug trial. No one spoke of Arthur's disease or the crying they would here late at night. No one scolded Arthur for crawling into bed with Francis and Matthew or for sleeping in like they did when he was younger. Arthur was able to ignore most of that along with the bit of underlying tension created by the subject though and was happy for the break.

≈ 742 words, comments and votes are always appreciated and thanks for reading. X3