(Name) stood in her front room, shocked. Still holding the picture of her as a child along with her brother and his friends, along with one of her classmates that had been making her miserable for the past year and a half.

Who so happened to be a friend of hers once upon a time.

"I... I'm going to wait for you in the car, Allistor." Arthur's murmured before turning and walking out of the house.

The girl waited for the blond to leave the house before walking over to the two friends and sat down. She watched as Allistor got Louis to sit down, humming softly to himself.

"Allistor... Can you explain what happened between me and Arthur?" She asked the Scotsman. 

Said man quirked a bushy brow at her. "You really don't remember... Do you?" He asked in return. With no audible response, he let out a sigh. "Then again, I guess I shouldn't expect you to."

(Name) gave Allistor a questionable look, not quite understanding what he meant.

"You two stopped being friends around the time your parents were going through their divorce," He began to explain, watching Louis as the attorney drifted off to sleep. "You were really having a rough time with it, if you could remember."

She nodded, that she did remember. "Yeah... That was when I was going through a lot of panic attacks because of the stress..."

Allistor nodded, giving her a sympathetic smile. "Well, you went into one while you were playing with Arthur. Scared the hell out of the kid."

I went into one around Arthur?

"And... Well... Seeing you so stressed out during the whole divorce did a number on your brother here. We were around when the attack came about, and your brother just... He kind of snapped at Arthur when he tried to figure out what was going on."

Allistor paused, looking over at his friend with a soft laugh. "Of course, he tried to apologize to Arthur after a couple of days. But my brother was still kinda scared of him. It was the first time he had seen Louis so angry. But, he and I sat down for a talk."

"Okay..."

"Louis and I felt that it would be best if you just stayed away from Arthur for a while. He made the decision to enter the running to be your guardian. We had just graduated and all, and he was working to get a stable income." Allistor explained. "And you and Arthur just... You never got together again as friends. He was still scared of your brother and scared of what could happen while he was with you."

"So... We drifted apart so much... We just forgot about each other?"

He shrugged. "You drifted away from a lot of kids at the time. Like uh... Our cousins. Alfred and the French kid. You weren't as close as you were with Arthur with them, but, you know..."

(Name) tried to process all this new information that Allistor explained as quick as she could, but that just lead to a headache. She shook her head as Allistor stood. 

"I guess I better head out. Turns out I'll be seeing you more than I thought, considering Vargas wants me to keep being sub." Said the Scotsman with a grin. "But... You just keep up the good work. You're doing good, despite what all has happened."

(Name) stood with Allistor walking him to the door. "Thanks... I'll see you on Monday, I guess." She said as he walked down the steps. She watched as Allistor gave her a wave as he made it to his car. She also caught a glance of Arthur in the passenger-side front seat. For just a moment, their eyes met. Of course, Arthur quickly broke contact as his brother entered the car.

Soon enough, Allistor drove off with Arthur, leaving (Name) to lock up the house for the night. She turned back to Louis, who was still asleep on the couch. She let out a sigh as she picked up her laptop that was still open on the far side.

Taking it to the dining room, she was met with the surprised gaze of Tino. "Please tell me no one saw you." She said in a hushed tone, fearing she would wake up her brother.

"No one at all... But (Name)... You and Arthur? Friends?"

"Believe me, I'm having a hard time with the thought myself." She answered, running a hand through her (h/c) locks. 

Tino sighed, looking at his friend. "Well... Why don't you just try to sleep on all this, okay? We can talk more tomorrow." He tried to pull a smile, but (Name) could see the worry in his gaze.

"Okay... Night, Tino. Sleep well." (Name) said before ending the call and closing her laptop.

~~~

"Ughh... (Name)... Remind me never to go out drinking with Allistor again..." Groaned the (h/c) male as he rubbed his temples to ward off the pain of the hangover headache

The teen sighed as she brought her brother a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. "You should know not to by now." She replied as she sat on the arm of the couch that her brother was laid out on since the night before.

Louis sighed softly, peeking up at his sister. "How're things at school? I didn't ask last night... For obvious reasons."

She shrugged, blowing a piece of hair away from her eyes. "Same old school, doing my work, getting through my classes." She answered simply.

"Good..." He said softly, slowly sitting up. "You really forgot about Artie, huh?" He asked before picking up the aspirin. "Then again, the kid forgot you too. But, he did seem to know you. You two classmates?"

"He's in a couple of my classes, yeah. We don't talk much though." She explained.

Louis nodded, taking a couple of the tablets. "Who do you talk to at school? You don't seem to mention anyone specifically."

(Name) felt a jolt run up her spine as she heard the question. Thinking of a quick answer, she looked at her brother. "Well... I talk with a few friends, just a few guys."

"Guys, huh? You don't talk to any girls?" If quirked the brother.

She shook her head. "I mean... There's this one girl that I met this week... But she's just the younger sister of a guy that I talk to." 

Louis nodded. "Yeah... You just let me know if I need to talk to a soon-to-be boyfriend or scare one off." 

The girl let out a laugh as she gently pushed his arm. "Don't worry about it, bro. There's no one you need to worry about."

The elder sibling chuckled as he drank down the glass of water. "Well, all you have to rely on for relationship advice is me... Then again, I guess I wasn't the best at relationships either."

The younger quirked a brow. "What do mean by that? You seemed really happy with that girl in the picture."

Louis let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Well... Once the divorce and custody battle was going on, she was heading off to college, it just got hard for us to spend time together..."

(Name) listened to him explain, feeling a growing pang of something in the pit of her stomach.

"Stress was high for both of us... And we just decided to take a break. We tried to keep in touch, but we just kind of stopped... I dunno." 

The sister wrapped her arms around her brother and hugged him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Don't worry, brother. You'll get back on the wagon, I know it. There's a lucky girl out there just waiting to meet you."

The brother laughed softly, patting (Name) on the back. "Okay... Thanks, I guess?" He said, watching as his sister pulled away. "Why don't you fix something for lunch for the both of us? It might make my head feel better."

"Okay. 'Sister being nice because you got a hangover' time is over." (Name) said before walking out of the living room and to the kitchen. She pulled out the chicken broth and the noodles to cook for Louis' chicken noodle soup.

Still, she couldn't help but feel guilty about Louis and his old relationship. He wasn't able to keep it together because of the custody battle. And that girl, Katyusha, Louis called her. She must have been hurt. Louis is a kind, considerate, and loving guy. She must have felt something on a deeper level for him.

And (Name)'s own relationship with Arthur. The two used to be friends for God's sake! And she had a hand in ruining it.

Still... She had to wonder why Arthur continued to resent her so much, even after they had grown apart. Sure, he would be angry or upset that Louis snapped at him or that they couldn't play anymore, but he should have forgotten about that as he matured. 

Whenever (Name) noticed Arthur's gaze on her, she always felt like there was a glint of resentment in his eyes along with a strong hatred. What could a popular, smart, and athletic guy have against a nobody like (Name)? Sure if he was really competing grades, then that would be something.

But still... What was there to hate?

~~~

"Damn it Owen!! I'm just going out for a bit!!" Exclaimed the Brit as he walked down the stairs of his house, his taller and oldest brother following behind him.

"Arthur, you still have chores to finish! You know the rules!!" Exclaimed the brunette, his arms crossed over his chest. "If you hadn't come on with Allistor so late last night, then I wouldn't be complaining!"

Arthur groaned, glaring back at his oldest brother. "Just leave me be, Owen. I can finish my chores when I get back. Or just get Liam to do them for me."

"Oi! I have a paper due for my English class due Monday, and I still have to read the damn book!" Exclaimed the youngest of the four brothers from the living room as he flipped through Ashes of Roses.

Allistor sighed in irritation, looking up the stairwell to see his two brothers walk down and bicker. "Owen, I'll handle Arthur's chores. Let the kid go."

Owen met the deeper green eyes of the second oldest brother in the family, sighing in defeat. "Fine... But you best make sure that you have plenty of time to study for that science quiz you have coming up."

"I will!" Arthur yelled as he made his way out the door. Slamming it shut, Arthur let out a growl of irritation at his oldest brother' snagging as he made his way into town.

"Of course Owen has to pin all the damn chores on me." He muttered as his stuffed his hands in his pockets. He had planed with Alfred to meet with Francis so they could discuss what to do with their Canadian cousin.

Soon enough, he made it to the coffee shop he had agreed to meet his two cousins. Once he had ordered himself a cup of Earl Grey, he sat at a table and waited. It didn't take long for Francis to join, leaving the two to talk small as they waited for the third member of their party to join.

"Hey dudes..." Mumbled the American as he sat down with his large cup of coffee. The other two raised their eyebrows at the sight of their cousin as he wore sunglasses indoors.

"Um... Alfred? You want to ditch the eyewear? It's not exactly practical to wear sunglasses indoors." Francis spoke as his sipped at his iced tea. 

Alfred frowned as he tipped up his aviators, revealing to his cousins a shiner on his left eye. It caused Arthur and Francis to visibly shudder, leading to Alfred nodding and returning his shades to their position. "Yeah, so anyway, what are we going to do about this?"

"Well, I can't say using reason with Matthew will work, considering how he yelled at us yesterday." Arthur said simply, looking down at his cup.

Francis nodded. "Oui. Matthieu certainly knew what buttons to push to shut us up yesterday."

Alfred let out a snort of defiance. "And he isn't talking to me. I tried bribing him with pancakes this morning, but he wouldn't give me the time of day!"

Arthur listened to Alfred complain as he looked down into his cup. It's all (Name)'s fault... If Matthew wasn't so invested in trying to be her friend, this wouldn't be an issue... Not that it's hard. She was always friendly. Quiet maybe, but pleasant to be around. Not to mention she could hold a conversation-

"Artie? Earth to Artie!" Alfred said, snapping his fingers in Arthur's face. 

The Brit shook his head, glaring at the American. "Don't do that, you git." He growled.

"You weren't paying attention, mon ami. I asked what you think we should do to convince Matthieu to break ties with a certain bitch that we all loathe." Francis said to his cousin. "Maybe use something from her past against her?"

"What could we use? We don't know a thing about her past!" Alfred snapped as he looked at the Frenchman and the Brit. 

Francis sighed before turning to Arthur. "What say you, mon ami? Something that could render her completely helpless and terrified. Leaving her in such a state that she wouldn't dare get close to Matthieu again."

Render her helpless? Terrified? How could I ever forget that day when they were kids? She curled herself into a tight fetal position as she sobbed and gasped for air... If something like that had happened now, no one would dare get close to her, think of her as reliable, or anything of the like ever again.

"Well mates, there is something..."