"Alright, don't have too much fun without me, dude!" Alfred yelled as Shelby hopped out of the passenger seat of his truck.

"Um, you'll only be gone for two hours. How much fun do you think I'm gonna have?" Shelby inquired with a teasing smile.

"Well, a normal person could have fun in five minutes." Alfred pointed out with a wide smile.

"Well, a normal person also doesn't hang out with immortal beings that represent landmasses, do they?" Shelby pointed out, before waving her fingers. "Auf wiedersehen!"

Shelby walked across the grass to Canada's house, carrying a small crock pot. She arrived at the door as America sped away, and she knocked on the door. "Matthew, I'm here! And I brought the buff dip!" She exclaimed excitedly.

After a few moments of silence the door opened slowly, revealing a rather tall figure. He smiled happily at the sight of Shelby. "Ah, friend Shelby! So good to be seeing you!"

Shelby almost dropped the buff dip and her knees became weak. "I-Ivan?" She whispered, her voice hardly audible. "Where's... Where's Canada?"

"Oh, Matthew cannot be with us right now."

Shelby took a step back, looking the large country up and down. "Did you kill him?" She stammered.

Russia tilted his head in confusion. "What? No, I did not. He was not here when I was arriving. Neither was friend Hope." He explained, his violet eyes flashing a hurt light. "I had to let myself in."

"That's called breaking and entering." Shelby whispered.

"Well, now you break and enter also. Come in, we will have much fun while we wait." Russia stated, reaching forward and grabbing Shelby's arm. She went stiff, her feet hardly moving as Ivan dragged her inside.

Once there was no option to escape, Shelby walked quickly to the kitchen, plugging in the crock pot to keep the buff dip warm. She tried to swallow her nerves and compose herself, but without Hope here to keep Ivan at bay... Shelby's stomach began to churn at the thought.

She turned, only to smack straight into Russia's lower chest. Shelby yelped at the contact, shielding her face as she turned away. "Did I surprise you? Apologies, I feared that you were going to try and leave." Russia explained and when Shelby peered up, she saw Russia's usual skin-crawling smile was now a slight frown.

"I-I'm not leaving." She managed to say through her tight throat.

That seemed to make him a bit happier. "Much joy that brings me, friend Shelby." He explained, reaching down and grabbing Shelby's clammy hand. "Come, we watch movie, da?"

Shelby felt a shiver go up her spine. "S-sure." She stuttered, holding her other arm around her abdomen.

"I was thinking the Divergent, I very much enjoy that movie." Ivan suggested, taking a seat and pulling Shelby onto the cushion next to him.

Her muscles were ridge. "Sounds good." She whispered.

Once Russia got the movie going, Shelby managed to relax a bit, mostly because Ivan was absolutely fixed on the screen. Shelby tried to pay attention, considering she really did love the Divergent series, but her head was still pounding and her heart was still racing.

Why are you so scared of him? He hasn't tried to hurt you once. Part of her subconscious seemed to mutter.

But the other half was much louder. Remember those stories your dad used to tell you? What you learned in school? That's the guy he was talking about.

Suddenly, Russia spoke, breaking her concentration. "Friend Shelby, if you do not wish to be with me, I am very much understanding." He said softly, and Shelby glanced over in surprise.

Ivan lips were pulled in a sad frown and his eyes glistened with moisture as they stared with a empty sadness at the movie. "I know you do not trust me very much. I am aware of what the others think of me." He continued, his voice deeper, as if he had lost the energy to keep it friendly. "Only friend who likes to see me is Hope, and Hope is always busy now. I think I chased her away as well, da? This is the first time I have been invited over in weeks, and she leaves before I can see her."

He takes a deep breath. "I am like pretty girl in movie, Tris. I try so hard to fit in with my friends, but they will always see me as different. They will never not fear me. I will always be outcast."

Shelby stared up at him with wide eyes. At first, she didn't know exactly what to say or do, before finally, she took a deep breath. "You're not an outcast." She muttered. Russia glanced at her, lifting a brow slightly. "You fit right into our little group perfectly. It's us- well... it's me who needs to stop being so scared of you."

"Why are you so scared?" He inquired softly.

"I've learned over the years that Russia is... basically our number one enemy. We're taught about the Cold War in school, and most of it was about how you planned to blow us up. It used to really freak me out when I was younger. The fear just kinda built up in me." Shelby explained, pulling her legs into her chest. "So yeah, you freak me out quite a bit."

"Well, I am not the Russia in stories, I am promising." Russia stated. "And I will not hurt you on purpose." He smiled kindly. Before Shelby could respond, Ivan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, looking a lot more pleased to have cleared the air. Shelby was still quite tense, but she thought about what Russia had said. He's not the Russia in the stories. Despite still being uncomfortable, Shelby wasn't as rigid as before as she attempted to turn her attention back to the movie.

~~~~~

The front door opened slowly and Hope pushed her way in, followed by Canada, Kumajirou, Alfred, Japan, Mexio, and Jenna.

"Hey, Shelbs, we brough- oh, Ivan's here?" Hope questioned, smiling at the sight of Russia fast asleep on the couch.

"Where's Shelby?" Jenna asked, looking around in confusion.

"I think she is there, sleeping next to Russia." Japan whispered in an uneven voice. At first the group smiled and laughed at his joke, but when they actually looked, they discovered Japan was correct. Shelby was leaning into his side, her cheek on his chest. She looked completely relaxed and peacefully as she slept.

Alfred's cheeks began to heat up and José laughed. "Jenna, look! America is getting muy celeoso."

"SHUT IT MEXICO"