Russia POV

I sobbed into my hands as I waited outside Soviet's room. I wasn't the only one. All of my siblings sobbed into their hands, or hugged each other and sobbed. Not like it made a difference, we all were upset over father.

I couldn't get the image of his face out of my mind, or the words he said. I knew he knew he was going to die, and he wanted to tell me he loved me and everyone else one last time.

Apart from the tears I was already shedding, I felt a waterfall of more coming. I crumbled onto the floor and lay on my side, despite the chairs being nearby.

My eyes were starting to ache but I didn't stop. I attempted to get up but I fell on my knees instead, causing immediate pain upon impact. I wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around me, I was too deep in my thoughts. I couldn't see anything but the blurry marble floor of the hospital.

I stared at the floor on my knees for a few minutes before feeling a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at whoever it was and saw the blurry face of one of my sisters. I wiped my eyes and looked up at her again.

"Ei Rusija... Ar tau reikia apkabinimo..? (Hey Russia... Do you need a hug..?)" Lithuania gazed down at me. A tear trickled down but she wiped it away.

Lithuania doesn't really show emotion. My siblings tell me it's been a 'problem' since she was about four, but nothing more. When she does show much emotion it's rare. When she expresses such emotions as crying, she does so quietly, or completely silent.

I didn't question nor was I surprised when I saw her. She cares about Soviet just like I and the rest of my siblings do. It's reasonable that she'd cry.

I nodded and shakingly climbed to my feet. I hugged Lithuania and she hugged me back, holding me in a tight grip to prevent my weak legs from collapsing.

Not even a few seconds pass of the hug and I start bawling again. I hear whimpers from Lithuania but nothing more. Lithuania and I eventually fall to the floor but never let go of each other.

Over the loud sobs of my siblings, I heard multiple footsteps from down the hall. It sounded like whoever was there was running.

I weakly looked up and saw the blurry figures of North Korea, China, Britain, Italy, Japan, and Third Reich. I was confused for a second before remembering that they were Soviet's closest friends, Third was even his boyfriend.

But why was Britain there?

Anyway, they were all sprinting down the hallway. Once they arrived I wiped my face and eyes and shakingly stood up, helping Lithuania up as well. I leaned on a nearby chair to support myself and then finally turned to them. "Что...что ты здесь делаешь..? (What...what a-are you doing here..?)"

They all shared a glance. Italy and Japan looked at Third. Third shrugged and said, "I don't speak a lot of Russian, don't look to me."

Luckily, Uzbekistan was one of three of my siblings that had calmed down enough to have a conversation. He stood up and turned to them. "Russia asked what you're doing here..."

"We heard about Soviet's health and rushed here." Italy explained.

"Nobody sent out a text...did they?" Estonia asked.

The rest of my siblings and I shook our heads. China pulled out his phone and showed us all a text. "UN told us."

Uzbekistan nodded in understanding. UN can sometimes sense when something bad has happened, and to which country. In this case, he knew what happened in Soviet's room.

"I hope you guys don't mind us being here..." Japan murmered.

"We don't mind Jaapan, you are his friends after all." Estonia said, his voice shaking a little.

I could see their expressions properly now. They all wore the same worried expression, but Britian looked more upset than the rest of them. "Вы в порядке, Британия? (You alright Britain?)" I asked.

I was still really upset. My body was shaking and I was still leaning on the chair to not fall down. I was still so upset I couldn't speak English. I understood it, but couldn't speak it.

It's just something that happens when I feel overwhelmed with a certain emotion.

Uzbekistan translated for Britain and Britain nodded. He quickly sat down on a chair and burried his face in his hands. I was wondering why Britain was so worried and upset over Soviet. Dad never talks about him, and I've never seen them hang out together.

North Korea, China, Japan, and Italy all sat down on the floor. I heard China telling North stuff in another language, but I wasn't sure if it was Chinese or Korean. I leaned to the side to get a better look at their faces.

I realized North was crying.

He had kept it relatively quiet, and it was still quiet as I looked at him. China stopped talking and just stared at North in pity. He sighed and pulled North into a hug, holding onto him tightly. North clutched China's clothes and hid his face in his chest.

Third Reich sat with his legs pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them and his head cradled in between. He was visibly shaking and you could hear whimpers coming from him.

Japan and Italy shed a few tears as well, but only a few. Overall, they were more worried than sad.

"Faresti meglio a non morire da morire, Sovietico." Italy murmered. (You better not fricking die, Soviet.)

I didn't know what Italy had said, but I knew it had something to do with Soviet. A few more of my own tears fell down my cheeks but I didn't bother to wipe them away. I sat down in the chair and closed my eyes and layed back, waiting for the doctors to come out and tell us some form of news.

Time skip

I guess I had fallen asleep because I awoke to Turkmenistan shaking me awake. "Wake up Russ." He said. He adjusted his scarf so it partially covered his mouth.

I sat up and yawned. I stood up and looked around. Everyone was in the same positions as before, with the exception of China and North Korea. China was sat on a nearby chair holding onto North, who was sleeping.

I turned to Soviet's door when I heard it open. A doctor walked out with a clipboard in his hands. He saw everyone there and cleared his throat. That got everyone's attention, but North was still asleep.

He turned to me and nodded in my direction. "Russia, correct?"

"Да." I nodded at the same time, unsure if he understood Russian.

He turned to the rest. "And I assume the rest of you are friends and family?"

They nodded.

The doctor sighed. "We'll have to perform some tests to see what happened. But, visiting hours are over, you best be getting home."

I screamed internally. That answer just tells me they don't know what happened and that something is very wrong...

I sighed. "A-alright... Thanks."

The doctor nodded and walked away, calling someone's name asking for medicine. The rest of my siblings and Soviet's friends stood up. Britian sighed and was the first one to walk away. The rest of us followed suit.

Time skip

I lay in my bed at home staring at the roof. My ushanka lay on the bedside table. Some of my siblings had told me that they were gonna stay with me until Dad got better. They had already put their belongings in their respectful rooms, and they had left the house earlier to help Armenia get the last of his things.

I sighed and shook my head. I sat up and put my ushanka back on. I then got off the bed and walked into the hallway.

The house was quiet, unnaturally quiet. I could hear my heart beat in the silence as I made my way to Soviet's room.

I'm not usually bothered by the silence, but that's because I knew Soviet was sleeping, in his office, or somewhere outside and that he'd come back soon. I also really liked it when it was quiet.

But today I wanted to hear Soviet's voice, to hear his footsteps when he walked around, to hear his laugh... Heck, I even wanted to hear him scold me when I do something bad!

I blinked away tears and placed my hand on the doorknob. I twisted the knob and opened the door, stepping inside. I looked around and saw that the room looked the same as when I had last saw it, apart from the blanket on Soviet's bed. It was on the floor.

I picked up the blanket and put it neatly on the bed, making sure it covered every inch and touched the pillows at the top. I adjusted the pillows and then stepped away, examining the bed. Once I came to the conclusion that it looked nice I turned back and looked at the rest of the room.

I sadly smiled looking at everything there. I walked around, making sure everything was in good condition. I eventually opened a drawer that had a picture of my family in it.

I slowly, almost hesitantly, picked it up. My father stood in the middle, the rest of my siblings and I crowded around him. I unknowingly placed my hand on the spot Soviet stood, a bright smile was on his face.

"Venemaa? (Russia?)"

I gasped and whipped around. Estonia stood at the door. I quickly, but carefully, put the picture back and turned to Estonia again. "Эстония! (Estonia) I was... I-I... Um... Well... Estonia I-"

Estonia raised a hand to silent me. "You don't need to explain yourself, Russia."

I sighed and looked at the floor, grabbing one of my arms with the other. "I miss him..." I murmered.

Estonia walked into the room and hugged me. "He'll be okay..."

"How do you know that?"

"Please, try to think positively... It might help."

I sighed. "Okay, it's worth a shot."

Estonia grabbed my hand and gently pulled me to the door. "Let's get out of this room, okay?"

I pulled back for a moment, but eventually agreed. I let him pull me out and close the door.

"Who else is here?" I asked Estonia.

"Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Lithuania, Georgia, Latvia, and Turkmenistan." Estonia said, counting his fingers. "Uzbekistan is thinking about it."

I nodded and started walking to my room. Estonia headed towards the stairs and called to me, "I'll be making dinner, don't miss it!"

"I won't!"

I entered my room and closed the door. I took off my ushanka and set it on my bedside table. I collapsed into bed and fell asleep shortly after.

North Korea POV

I woke up in my bed. I felt arms wrapped around me so I assumed it was China. I gently took his arms off of me and sat up. I looked at my alarm clock to see the time-

2:55 AM?!

I never wake up this early! Let alone on a school day!

I internally screamed at myself in frustration and lied back down. When I found that I couldn't sleep I got up and left the room.

I was planning on getting some water and then head back to bed. But I stopped when I saw the hallway.

It was really, really, really, dark. I could barely see the stairs to my left. I went back inside my room and grabbed my phone. I turned it to flashlight and stepped into the hallway.

Now that I had some light, I wasn't really that scared.

I uh...lied...

I was still terrified.

I nervously stepped into the hallway. I was trying to prevent myself from shaking from fear. The light helped me see, but also cast scary shadows. That did worse for my fear.

I took a deep breath and crept down the stairs. I didn't want to wake China up. Once I reached the bottom, I flashed the light around the room. I recognized the hallway that led to the kitchen and went down it.

I had finally reached the kitchen. I realized I had been holding my breath when I felt like my chest was gonna burst. I let out a sigh.

I reached my hand out to turn the light on. When I reached the switch, I flicked it upwards. The light didn't turn on. I flicked it a couple more times.

I let out an annoyed and angry growl. I went to the cupboard and grabbed a cup. I was walking over to the sink when I heard footsteps.

I froze. The footsteps sounded like they were walking around the living room. I quickly turned my phone's flashlight off and cowered in a corner.

Now that I think about it, I should have left the kitchen...

Before I could get up and leave though, I heard the footsteps coming toward the kitchen's direction.

'Oh great! Now I'm gonna die!' I thought sarcastically. I was actually terrified to be honest.

The footsteps stopped at the entrance of the kitchen. I covered my mouth before I gasped. I looked around and noticed I was close to the knives I had. I quietly grabbed one and then went back to the corner, but I was standing now.

I saw what looked like a flashlight's light flash in. I knew whoever it was was gonna come inside now. I crept to the entrance and gripped the knife I had harder.

The person entered and I raised my knife to stab their back. Just as I was about to swing my gut told me not to last second. I stopped and examined the clothes. They were familiar.

"China?"

China turned around and saw me. "There you are!"

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for you, of course."

"농담 해? I almost stabbed you! (Are you kidding me?)"

China chuckled. "I see," he said, pointing to the knife in my hand.

I lowered the knife and sighed. "You scared me, I thought someone broke in!"

"I didn't want to, but that backfired, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did."

China laughed. With the help of his flashlight I managed to put the knife back. I then went and grabbed his hand.

He chuckled again. "This is why I came looking for you."

I sighed. "China, the lights won't turn on."

"Yeah, I know. I called Taiwan and he said there was a blackout."

"Really?"

"Apparently."

"It's two in the fricking morning!" I muttered a curse word after.

China widened his eyes. "I didn't think you even cursed, or knew how."

I sighed. "I only curse when I'm really upset."

China nodded. He looked towards the counter. "Were you getting water?"

Oh, right. I had completely forgotten about that. I nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not thirsty anymore."

China led me back to the stairs and to my room. I looked at my alarm clock and saw it was off. I was confused. "My alarm clock was on before I left."

"The blackout probably happened shortly after you left."

We got back into bed. China pulled me close to him, and I didn't mind. The closer the better, I was still scared. China kissed my forehead. "Goodnight Northy."

"Goodnight China." I yawned.

We fell asleep not long afterwards.

Time skip

BEEP BEEP BEEP "SHEEP!"

Wait, what?

I turned my alarm clock off and rubbed my eye. I walked to the window and saw South leaning out of his window. "That alarm clock is so loud North, turn it down!" He shouted to me.

"Now you know how I feel about your K-Pop!" I shouted back.

"That's different!"

"How?!"

"It just is!"

"South you are-"

"North, stop yelling."

I turned around and looked at the bed. China was sitting up, rubbing his eyes. "Please? I gotta call Taiwan in a second."

"North? What were you gonna say?" South called from his house.

I turned back to him. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Very mature, North."

I rolled my eye and closed the window. I walked to China, who had gotten his phone and was preparing to call Taiwan.

His phone rung only once before Taiwan picked up. "Nǐ hǎo?" (Hello?)

"Jiù xiàng nǐ wèn de yīyàng, wǒ zài nàlǐ dǎle diànhuà." (There, I called, just like you asked.)

"Zhōngguó, nín zhēn de xūyào jiānchí zìjǐ de tàidù. Yǒu yītiān wǒ huì qiǎnggòu." (China, you really need to work on your attitude. Some day I'll snap.)

China rolled his eyes. "Shì de, shì de wǒ xiǎng zài xuéxiào jiàn." (Yeah, yeah, whatever. See you at school I guess.)

"Zàijiàn xiǎo xiōngdì." (Bye little bro)

"Zàijiàn." (Bye.)

China hung up. I grabbed my clothes for school; a grey long sleeved shirt and black pants. China saw me pick out the clothing and he sighed. I turned to him. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"You always wear grey and black and...well, just dark colors. Can't you try wearing something a bit more...colorful?"

I thought about it. It would seem nice, but then I thought of Panama and the rest of the countries. They'll make fun of me.

I shook my head. "I don't wanna draw attention."

"Alright..."

"However..."

China looked at me. I smiled. "I can wear more colorful clothes when I'm alone with or without you. If that's okay?"

China nodded. "Sounds good. I'm not trying to pressure you or anything."

I nodded. I walked to the bathroom and changed my clothes. I came out and set my pajamas on the bed neatly. I looked at China and noticed his clothes were changed too.

"How-how did you change so fast?" I asked him.

China shrugged. "Taiwan and I used to have little tournaments of who could get dressed the fastest. Could be that."

I stopped gawking and went downstairs. Once I reached the kitchen I asked China, "What do you want to eat?"

"You have any cereal?"

"Yup."

We both prepared our cereal bowls. We watched TV as we ate and eventually I switched to the news channel. The reporter wasn't talking about anything interesting, and I was about to switch channels before China stopped me. "This might be interesting." He said.

I shrugged and looked at the TV. The reporter started talking about a fire.

"An apartment building was set on fire last night at 12 o'clock pm, there were no survivors."

I stopped eating my cereal. The reporter talked about how no one knows who it was set on fire, but there was a security camera. The footage showed a person in a dark coat and pants. We saw them pull out a match and lighter. They lit the match and lit the building on fire, and then ran. The footage was too dark to tell what their skin was, and there's a high chance that they were wearing gloves.

China turned the TV off. I shivered. "Creepy..." I murmered.

China silently nodded and took our bowls. He walked down the hallway that led to the kitchen and disappeared there. I got up and pulled my shoes on, and then grabbed my backpack.

China walked back in and pulled his shoes and backpack on as well. We walked out the door and to school. China held my hand the whole way.

When we reached the school I was surprised to see South and America there already. America always wakes up at the latest time possible, why is he here at 7:15?

South looked and ran to me. He hugged me so tight I thought I would die from suffocation. He pulled away and looked me in the eye, his expression anxious. "North, did you watch the news today?" He asked.

I was confused on why he asked that but nodded anyway. He took a deep breath. "I-I recognized the person who set the building on fire."

"What?" The word just came out. Not like I wanted to talk or anything...ha...

"I don't know who it is, I just recognized the clothes they wore. You see, Ame and I were followed by that exact person the other day."

I didn't say anything. China put a hand on my shoulder. "Did you catch a glimpse of their face?" He asked them.

South shook his head. America walked up to us. "I didn't either. But Moldova was there, she let us in her house when we told her what happened."

China shared a glance with me. I grabbed his hand. "Well, you guys can sort it out yourselves." I said, pulling China away.

South and America stared after us as we entered the school. China forced his hand out of my grip and got in front of me. "North, what the heck was that?! They were asking for help."

"They can do it themselves. Besides, I hate both of them."

"North, put your hatred aside for one moment! We're talking about a person who set an entire building on fire and killed everyone inside! They followed your brother, and who knows what could have happened if Moldova hadn't been there?!"

I didn't reply. I stared up at China. His expression was angry. I looked at the ground and didn't say anything.

China sighed. "North, I'm sorry for yelling at you..." He pulled me into a hug. "But you need to take this seriously. Whoever this person is has the intent to hurt or kill a lot of people. They seem to have targeted your brother and..."

There was a pause. "I'm just stressed... This person has got me on edge and I don't want them hurting you."

China tightened his grip on me. I hugged him back. Tears threatened to fall from my eye but I blinked them away. I sighed. "O-Okay China... I'll take it seriously..."

"Good."

We pulled away and I looked at the entrance. Part of me wanted to go out and apologize to South, and say that we'd help him. The other part said to just carry on with my day, I'll get to it eventually.

I shook my head and took a deep breath. I was about to walk to the doors when America shoved them open and stomped towards me.

South Korea POV

When North Korea and China went inside America turned to me, frowning. "I told you that it wouldn't work, North Korea is a heartless bastard!"

"North isn't a heartless bastard," I turned to him. "He loves China, right? That alone proves that he has one! Besides, we'll try again later."

"Nuh uh, there is no way I am talking to the guy again, unless it's a argument!"

"America!"

"What?! It's true! He doesn't care about anyone but himself! He could be using China for his own needs!"

"America that is enough! North wouldn't use anyone for anything! If he doesn't like them then he won't approach them."

I think America rolled his eyes. It's really hard, almost impossible, to tell whether his eyes do anything behind those shades of his. He had gotten them a while ago, but I guess he forgot about them for a while. America turned the building and muttered, "I wake up at 6 o'clock and the dumb plan doesn't even work."

I resisted slapping the back of Ame's head. "It will work! North is just...difficult."

"You mean impossible to deal with, a bastard, a nuke obsessed freak, a-"

"America, stop!"

America whipped his head back to me. He growled something I couldn't hear and then ran to the school. I knew he was going after North so I chased him. "America!"

Then America walked into the building. "America, stop!" I shouted. I walked into the building as well, trying to pull America back.

America shook me off of him and walked to North. His expression was furious. He was about to yell something at North when I covered his mouth. "Ame, calm down! Do you want me to call Australia?"

America stopped and defeatingly stared at the ground. Australia doesn't like it when Ame picks fights.

But that isn't the worst part.

Australia's form of discipline is leaving whoever it is in a cage with all of his biggest insects and reptiles for an hour. When they get out they have to say what they've done wrong, and that they are really sorry and won't do it again. However, if Australia doesn't hear what he wants to hear (or isn't satisfied), then he'll push you back inside and lock you in there for two more hours.

America has already been in the cage ten times, and he told me he's terrified of what Aussie will do to him if he gets in trouble with him an eleventh time.

I uncovered his mouth and let go of him. I turned to my brother. He and China had confused looks on their faces. I chuckled. "Sorry about that," my expression turned worryful (is that a word?). "But please, we need your help. You don't have to do much, just tell everyone what's going on or something."

North sighed. "Fine, we'll...help..."

China smiled faintly. "We'll tell everyone what's going on."

I was about to say something when America's phone rang. He answered it.

"Hello?"

"Ame?"

"Oh, hey Dad. What do you need?"

"Where are you? You're brothers can't find you."

"I'm at school."

We could hear confused British noises.

"America? You? At school before 7:30?"

America did a rolling eye motion with his head. "I know, surprising. South wanted to meet up with me for something."

"At school before 7:30?!"

"Yes, Dad, at school before 7:30."

"But- I- WHAT?!"

"Okay. Bye."

"I AM CONFUSED-"

America hung up. He put his phone away. North was whispering something to China, and no matter how hard I tried to hear what they were saying I couldn't.

Of course, America butts his head into everything. "Whatcha talkin' about?" He asked, very loudly.

North glared at him. "Nothing that concerns you."

America's eyebrows did a frown but a smile remained on his face. "Oh, I'm sure it does." He said through gritted teeth.

"No, it doesn't."

America clenched his hands into fists. No one saw but me. "Yes it does, North. If you were talking about me I'd like to know."

North rolled his eye. "Yeah, yeah, fat boy."

China facepalmed.

America was shaking in anger. "Uh...guys?" I didn't want a fight to happen. It wouldn't end well.

"I'm not fat!" America shouted.

North crossed his arms and focused his weight onto one leg. He raised a brow, smirking. "Wanna bet?"

"Shut up North!"

"Oh, am I hurting the fat American's feelings? Do you need your McDonalds to cope with life?" North mocked.

China frowned. "North, stop."

North glanced at China. When he turned back to America he would've recieved a slap if not for me holding Ame's arm back. That didn't stop America from yelling profanities at North, though.

When he finished yelling the profanities he practically screamed, "No wonder every country fricking hates you! I don't know why China loves you, I don't know why South and Canada care about you, I don't know why anyone cares about you! You're just a heartless bastard! You don't care about anyone! No one! You just care about yourself! You know what, you deserve to get bullied!"

When America finished he quickly covered his mouth and I think his eyes widened.

But the damage was already done.

North didn't bother to hide his tears or wipe them away. They streamed down his cheek. He took a shaky step back. China tried to grab him but failed, North sprinted down the hallway in the opposite direction.

China glared at America. "Nice job! Why don't you keep your mouth shut next time you stupid American!?"

China sprinted after North. America uncovered his mouth and looked at me. I was staring at the ground. He reached a hand to me. "South, I-"

I smacked his hand away and scowled at him. "You promised to not say anything bad about North! Don't you have any clue how those words hurt him?!"

America looked at the ground as I continued. "He's going through a lot! Why can't you be nicer?! I thought you cared!"

"It's hard..."

I snorted. "I'm going to homeroom."

"South, please I-"

"Don't talk to me, liar."

I walked down the hallway, ignoring America's pleas of forgiveness and whatever excuse he came up with. I eventually blocked him out.

When I reached my homeroom I sat down at my desk. I looked at North's desk and sighed.

Hopefully China can calm him down.

China POV

I sprinted after North Korea. I was surprised by how fast he was for his size. Of course, I was still faster than him, but I wanted to see where he'd go.

My efforts were tiring.

I followed him up six flights of stairs and onto the roof. I wasn't panting but I sure was tired. I stopped at the doorway and saw North run halfway across before falling to his knees and sobbing into his hands.

I sighed. I jogged to him and sat beside him. His sobbing seemed to get worse over time. I pulled him into my lap and hugged him tightly. He clutched my shirt and cried into my chest.

I started to say soothing things to him. After a while he started making convulsive gasps in an attempt to stop crying. The convulsive gasps slowly turned into deep, shaky breaths. North cuddled closer to me. In response, I held onto him tighter.

I guess I had forgotten about my surroundings because when I felt a hand on my shoulder I jumped. I looked up and saw UN, NATO, and EU. They were looking at North in sympathy. NATO and UN sat in front of me and looked at North. EU had put his hand on my shoulder. "What happened?" He asked me.

I looked at North. He looked up at me with a red, puffy eye. I mean, his eye color was already red but you get what I mean. My heart hurt looking at him.

"America." I said, a tint of anger in my voice.

EU sighed. "Obviously... UN, come. We're gonna talk to America."

UN nodded. He stood up and followed EU inside. NATO remained. He sighed. "I better follow them. See ya, China."

I nodded and he got up. He ran inside after UN and EU. North sighed. He looked up at me with a glistening eye. "Y-You do love me...r-right..?"

I kissed his head softly. "Of course I do," I rubbed his back. "Don't listen to what that dumb American says, you'll always be the one I love."

North smiled. He sat up and gave me a peck on the lips. I smiled warmly at him at kissed him. He wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed back.

We sat like that for ten seconds before pulling apart. North leaned onto my chest. "I love you."

"I love you too, Northy."

Taiwan POV

You must be very confused.

I ran around the halls of the school. I was looking for China. He had called me in the morning like I told him to but now I couldn't find him.

'He better not be skipping school.' I thought as I checked the tenth bathroom.

I swear, if he was I'm gonna beat his butt. When I walked out the bathroom I saw Belarus walking down the hallway. I was about to approach her and ask if she's seen China, but I stopped myself.

She looked really stressed and I didn't want to put my problems onto her. And knowing Belarus, she'd help find China even if I rejected the offer. I sighed and turned away from her. I remembered what China had told me last night before he went to bed about Soviet. I personally didn't like Soviet but China is one of his friends, so I could only listen as China told me about his condition.

I shook my head and sprinted down the hallway. I was coming up to another bathroom but I didn't realize someone was in front of me and I crashed into them.

We tumbled to the floor. I groaned and sat up. I turned to see who I knocked over, and it was Poland.

"Agh..." He muttered, rubbing his head.

"I'm really sorry for crashing into you like that." I got up and offered Poland a hand.

He looked up at me and took it. I pulled him to his feet and he dusted himself off. "Thanks." He said.

"No problem."

"Hey, I've never seen you around before. Are you new?"

I laughed. "No, I'm not new. I'm China's older brother, Taiwan."

"Taiwan? I've never heard of a country named Taiwan."

I shrugged. "Not a lot of people know me."

"Oh, that must be horrible. Countries thinking you're not one of them when you are."

"I'm used to it, it doesn't bother me that much. But it's really funny to see their reactions when I tell them the truth."

Poland squinted. He seemed to be examining my flag. I held still so he could. He stopped squinting and raised a brow. "Your flag is China's old Flag before the Chinese civil war, what happened?"

My smile dwindled. I stared at Poland. I didn't turn away from him but my eyes darted away. "We don't talk about that."

Poland nodded in understanding. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Taiwan."

My smile returned. "Nice to meet you too, Poland."

"You know me?"

"Everyone knows you."

"Oh, ha. True."

"See ya-"

"Wait, why were you in such a rush anyway?"

I turned back to Poland. I was confused for a moment but then I remembered. "I was looking for China. Do you happen to know where he is?"

Poland shook his head. "Nope. But now that I think about it, I haven't seen North Korea either. He could be with him."

"Of course..." I muttered under my breath. I plastered a fake smile on my face and said louder, "Alright, thanks Poland."

"I'm not sure if I was much help but...you're welcome!"

I walked away. I frowned. Of course China would be with that Korean, why wouldn't he be?

I scoffed as I continued looking for my younger brother. I still couldn't find him and it was almost class time. I turned around and started walking to class.

Should I put a rule for how long he can hang out with someone?

I shook my head. No Tai, you'll be too controlling. You want the best for China, not for him to be your puppet.

I remained in my thoughts as I walked to class.

Britain POV

I was waiting for France and the rest of my kids at the entrance to the school. I was leaning on one of the two pillars. I glanced to my right and saw Ireland talking with a few other countries. He glanced at me and glared, though he quickly turned back around.

I sighed. We'll never get along, will we? I looked around for France. I saw her in the distance with Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. She waved to me and I waved back.

"Hey Anh."

I looked down to see Vietnam standing there. He smiled at me. I returned the smile. "Ah, sorry there chap, I don't speak Vietnamese. But hello to you."

Vietnam chuckled. "Anh is Britain in Vietnamese."

"Oh.." I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment while Vietnam laughed.

"Don't be embarrassed Britain, of course you wouldn't speak Vietnamese." Vietnam stated when he was done.

I shrugged. "I've been made fun of in the past for only speaking one language."

"Really?"

I nodded. "I don't anymore but I sometimes think about it..."

"Well...have you thought about learning another language?"

I shrugged. "Sometimes."

I turned in the direction of France when I heard screaming. Australia was holding a gigantic spider and was trying to shove it into Canada's face. France stepped between them and told Australia to put the spider down or she'll kill it. Australia quickly set it on the ground and it scampered away.

"Is...that a normal day for you?" Vietnam asked me.

I nodded. "Bye Vietnam."

"Bye Britain."

Vietnam walked away as France walked towards me. "Hey La Grande-Bretagne (Britain)! Why were you talking to Vietnam?"

"He wanted to talk. What happened to Aussie's spider?"

France shrugged. "It ran off."

Australia, New Zealand, and Canada walked by and immediately split to hang with their friend groups. I looked around but I couldn't see America. "France, where is America?"

France looked around as well. "I don't know, do you want to look for him mon amour (my love)?"

I nodded.

We started looking for America around the front pillars of the school, then we searched the field(?) that us countries were in. When we still couldn't find him we turned to other countries.

"Nope, haven't seen him."

"I would hear him before I see him; but no, I don't know where he is."

"Nope, sorry."

"No, hope you find him."

"Sorry, but I haven't seen him."

"I haven't seen him, sorry."

"No, I haven't seen him nor do I care. Now scram you mistake!"

That last one was from Ireland. But overall, no country had seen America, not even Third Reich! I met back up with France at the entrance of the school.

"Any luck?" France asked me.

I shook my head. "No one has seen him, you?"

"I didn't get far either. Perhaps he's in the school?"

I nodded. I opened the doors and held them open for France. Before she walked in though, she turned back around, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted, "Ireland! Insult mon amour again and your head will be on a pike!"

Countries glanced at her and Ireland stared wide-eyed. France turned back around and walked inside like nothing happened. I quickly followed her in because I didn't want Ireland attacking me.

It's happened before, don't ask.

France and I walked around the school calling for America. He didn't even come running when I shouted that I'd let him eat McDonalds whenever he wanted.

France and I were starting to lose hope. We were about to turn back around when I heard a sniffle. I grabbed France's arm. "Do you hear that?" I whispered.

France went silent. Another sniffle. She nodded and we turned to where it came from. The Janitors closet stood there, and the sniffling seemed to be coming from inside.

"We'll both go in, okay?" I whispered.

France nodded and we opened the door. America sat curled up against the wall; his knees pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them, and his head was in his knees and his shades were sitting next to him.

He looked up as soon as we entered. He stared at us for a few moments. Tears fell down his cheeks.

America quickly wiped the tears away and turned away from us. "Wh-what do you want..?"

France and I hurried to America's side. "Amèrique! Are you okay?"

America glared at us. "Go away! I'm fine!"

"America please-"

America pushed me away with a lot of force. I stumbled back and fell down. I groaned as I sat up. France and America stared at me. "Are you okay mon amour?" France asked me, leaving America and coming to my side.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine love."

France and I looked at America. He stared at us wide-eyed. "I-I'm s-sorry I..."

France helped me up. We walked to America. He was starting to cry again. "I-It's just- I... I-I didn't..."

France and I hugged America. He started sobbing again but we didn't let go.

After a while of listening to Ame cry, he stopped and gently pushed us off. "I-I'm okay now." He sniffled, wiping his tears away.

"What happened, America?" I asked.

America was silent for a few moments. He sighed. "South and I got into a fight..."

"Pourquoi?" (Why?)

America took a deep breath. "So...South wanted to talk to me about something that happened a few days ago. He wanted to tell North Korea and China in hopes that they'd help. They agreed but North and I started...arguing. I said something really mean that made North run off and South got mad at me because of it. I had promised him I wouldn't say anything bad about North and I broke that promise..."

America covered his face with his hands. "He probably doesn't want to be my friend anymore..."

France sighed. "America, darling, I'm sure South still wants to be your friend. Friends have arguments, though some bigger than others. In the end they always make up."

America nodded and smiled. "Thank you Mom, Dad."

France and I nodded. America put his shades back on and France and I helped him up. "Now let's get out of this closet, it smells like mold."

France and America laughed at my mold comment. We left the janitors closet and closed the door. America decided to go and find Russia, and he said goodbye to us.

"I better go get my books for class, au revoir mon amour." (Goodbye my love) France kissed my cheek and walked away.

"Bye love!" I called after her.

I turned to head toward my locker but stopped. Ireland stood in front of me with his arms crossed. "Hello jerk, where is Northern Ireland?"

He frowned at me. "Northern Ireland, your brother?" I asked.

I mentally slapped myself. Of course it's that Northern Ireland there is no other Northern Ireland! I'm such a dunderhead.

Ireland scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, that Northern Ireland. What other Northern Ireland is there?! Just tell me where he is you botún fricking!" (Fricking mistake)

I didn't know what he said at the end so I ignored it. I shrugged. "Don't know, he could be in class though."

Ireland growled. He then slapped me and stomped away. I held the cheek he slapped. It burned. Surprisingly enough, I thought he'd do more.

I turned away and saw France running towards me. She stopped in front of me and checked if I was okay, then she sprinted after Ireland.

I watched as France beat up Ireland.

After a few minutes, she said, "You're really fricking lucky, you know that? I suggest you heed my warning from before."

"Frick off..." Ireland murmered.

France turned around and walked back to me. My cheek was still stinging from the slap. She removed my hand from it and kissed it. "Let's get to class now l'amour. (Love)"

I nodded. France and I then split up to go to our lockers.

----------------------------

So I was eating breakfast today and my egg looked like Australia-