After eating a delicious pancake breakfast made by Matthew, the couple hopped into Gilbert's car to drive to school. Upon arrival, they noticed Antonio hauling a huge cardboard box from his car towards the entrance of the building. They had arrived pretty early, so it looked like there was no one around to help him. Hopping out of the car, the two ran over to their Spanish friend and decided to offer him a hand. 

"Toni, need some ayuda?" Gilbert asked as he and Matthew caught up to the Spaniard on the sidewalk. 

"Wow, your Spanish is certainly getting better! I don't need any help right now but thanks for the offer" Antonio replied with a grin. Matthew could've sworn that boy's smile could make grass grow and flowers bloom, though he'd never admit it to Gilbert. 

"What's the box for?" Matthew asked curiously, holding the door open as the three reached the main entrance of the school. Antonio stepped through with the box and the couple followed until Antonio finally set it down on a table near the front office. 

"It has the posters in it for the winter formal. Kiku designed them and was looking for someone to put them up, so I volunteered" Antonio explained, eliciting an excited look from Gilbert. The winter formal was Gilbert's favorite part of the school year. Something about getting all dolled up for dancing and then going to a party afterwards was always super fun. Matthew, on the other hand, always dreaded the dance. As a more introverted individual, something about dressing up and going into a dark room filled blaring music and loud people wasn't exactly Mattthew's cup of tea. He just hoped now that he was with Gilbert it would be a little better. 

"Do you need any help hanging them up?" Matthew asked, looking at the ridicuous amount of posters in the cardboard box Antonio had just set down. 

"Actually, yes! You're a junior and I don't have any classes near the juniors' lockers, so if you could put some there I'd really appreciate it!" Antonio exclaimed, handing Matthew a stack of papers with an appreciative smile on his face. Matthew looked down at the pile in his hands and grimaced at how soon the dance was. Two weeks until Matthew's least favorite school event of the year. 

"Okay! I think I'm going to head over there now before the herd comes rushing in. See you two later" Matthew said, giving Gilbert a kiss on the cheek and waving goodbye to Antonio before taking off in the direction of the 11th grade lockers. He decided to tack up a few of the posters in the hallways on the way there to lighten Antonio's workload. As he approached the juniors' lockers, Matthew noticed Arthur's backpack leaning against the front of his locker. The Brit was at school surprisingly early. Deciding to look for his friend, Matthew poked his head into their homeroom, surprised when he found Arthur there reading the Scarlet Letter. 

"What are you doing here so early?" Matthew asked, watching as Arthur scribbled some annotations into his book. Arthur's head immediately shot up in surprise, his eyes wide before he realized who was talking to him. 

"Oh! Hey. I have to finish my English homework so I decided to come here for some peace and quiet" Arthur admitted.

"You didn't do your English homework?! What is happening to you?! Is this the real Arthur Kirkland or are you some sort of imposter?" Matthew joked facetiously. Arthur was a book worm, and English was his favorite subject, so Matthew was surprised to see he hadn't done his homework over the weekend.

"Usually I'd do it, but I had-" Arthur paused, turning red, "other priorities."

"I didn't know Alfred changed his name to Other Priorities" Matthew responded sarcastically, eliciting a punch to the shoulder from Arthur. Matthew giggled and Arthur lowered his head to the desk, pretending to hit his skull off the hard plastic as he grew more embarrassed. 

"Anyway, I'll leave you alone now. Have fun with your adulterous sin and seventeenth century Puritans" Matthew said before hopping off the desk he had been sitting on and heading out the door. As he headed into the hallway he noticed a lot more people arriving at school. As he headed through the hallway and saw a group of juniors staring at him, a twisted feeling arose in his stomach. More people meant more attention. 

Deciding to take a break from hanging up posters, Matthew slipped into the bathroom to compose himself. Looking in the bathroom mirror, Matthew noticed his face was slightly red and his forehead was sweaty. His anxiety was getting to him. He looked down at his hands and noticed they were shaking. Matthew turned on the cold water and ran his hands under it for a moment, feeling his body immediately cool down. He then cupped his hands and splashed bit of water on his face, the coldness of it momentarily making him forget about the classmates that awaited him outside the bathroom door. After taking a deep breath and wiping his face of the remaining droplets of water, Matthew headed back out the door. 

At this point, everyone had arrived at school, but it seemed no one was noticing him. He was like a ghost. He usually despised the crowded hallways of the high school, but today he was grateful. Herds of students were often the best places to hide when trying not to draw attention to himself. 

Matthew walked with a pack of around twenty students through the A-wing of the school for a few minutes before slipping into the art room, where he knew he could hide and not be found. Looking down at his phone, he noticed he had ten minutes until his first class, which luckily for him, was chemistry. Maybe if he spent the first block doing experiments with Gilbert he'd calm down a bit. Smiling at the thought of it, Matthew slipped back out of the art room and into another herd of students who seemed to be heading in the same direction as his chemistry class. 

The Canadian had been walking for a few minutes until he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Instinctively, Matthew slapped the hand away and turned around with a grimace on his face. It only took him a few seconds to realize that hand had been Alfred's. 

"Skip your first class with me" Alfred demanded, speaking loudly over the sounds of the obnoxious students in the hallway. Matthew noticed Alfred's face was plastered with concern. Matthew felt the knot in his stomach tighten.

"Why?" 

"Just do it. Let's go" Alfred blurted urgently, grabbing Matthew's wrist to pull him aside. 

"I can't just skip class! That's against the rules" Matthew shot back, pouting as his brother dragged him through the hallway by his arm. 

"Trust me. This is much more urgent than that chemical class you take" Alfred spoke, sounding incredibly dismissive as Matthew tried to complain about this sudden kidnapping. 

"It's called chemistry you buffoon" Matthew replied, rolling his eyes as he ran up the stairs with his brother, wondering where the boy could possibly be taking him. 

"Just shut up and follow me" Alfred shot back, this time sounding angrier than before. Whatever was bothering him was obviously super important. Matthew had never felt a tighter grasp on his wrist in his entire life. 

Eventually, Alfred pulled Matthew into the section of the C-Wing that was under construction. No students were supposed to be in there, but for some reason unbeknownst to Matthew, Alfred used it as a place to hide from teachers and a place to chill when he didn't want to go to classes. 

"Alfred! Where the hell are you taking me! We shouldn't be in here!" Matthew cried quietly as Alfred dragged him further and further into the hallway that was apparently "off limits" to students.

"What part of shut up don't you understand?" Alfred spat, eliciting a scoff from his brother. 

"No need to be a jerk" 

"Do you want to get caught?!"

"No."

"Then be quiet!" 

After what felt like 6 years of dodging ladders and other construction equipment, Alfred finally dragged Matthew into an untouched room. There had been debris throughout the under-construction wing but for some reason the room Alfred had dragged him into was perfectly fine. 

"How do you even know about this place?" Matthew asked as Alfred sat down at one of the desks with a serious look on his face. 

"I made friends with the construction guys and they let me hang here when I don't want to do work. Anyway, there's something very important that I need you to know" Alfred responded, gesturing for Matthew to sit down across from him. Matthew sat down and furrowed his brows, wondering what in the world could be so important that Alfred had to drag him halfway across the world just to tell him. 

"What's the matter?" Matthew asked, his hands beginning to shake again as the nervousness set back in. 

"Mom and Dad found out about you and Gilbert. They know you're gay."