WARNING: LIGHT CUSSING IN THIS CHAPTER!

"Oh my God!" Deep rushed whispers spread throughout the thriving crowd in front of the cozy and tall college campus gates. "I can't believe HE'S here." Mean seated glances cut their steely way towards a young man with shiny white hair. Without a care in the world, his muscular frame towered over the sea of bright new faces. Of course, he heard the words of his soon to be classmates, but it didn't surprise him. All his life he had been whispered and cursed behind his back. He just hoped that now he was starting college that something would change. Someone bumped into his shoulder and immediately turned to face him with dark, warm, brownish eyes.

"Oh, sorry about that." His voice trembled unwillingly and immediately the shorter man coughed to hide his soft and timid words. "I didn't mean to run into you. Just trying to get a good spot in the crowd." A bright smile shot from his face which nearly blinded the giant.

Immediately, all the snow white haired, 6'4 man could notice was the messy array of colors of the shorter man's hair. Streaks of white and red tainted his unruly curls while a bright patch of navy blue clung to the right side of his face. It seemed like if his curls were pulled straight, they would form into some type of symbol. It only took him a few minutes to realize the United States of America was standing right in front of him or at least the representative of that country. His lips gaped apart into a dumb expression while finding no words to melt together in some type of sentence.

"Um, you okay buddy?" Red and white curls tilted curiously to the side. Nice and tanned fingers pulled harshly on the giant backpack rubbing against the United States' back.

"Yes, I'm so sorry. I... your hair just caught me off guard." He found his own pale white fingers to run through his dyed platinum blonde hair.

The United States only seemed to chuckle and rock on the back of his heels. "Yeah, I used to dye it, but I realized recently that there's nothing to be ashamed of when I'm just being myself."

The hair on the taller man's head seemed to catch on fire at the other's words. There was a time when he was young and that his natural hair was his country's colors.

The United States peered closer and held his breath as soon as recognition crossed through the dark pools in his eyes. "The representative of Russia?"

A deep frown carved into the pale giant's face. It was such a shame that even with dyed hair that everyone finds out eventually.

"I... hey!" The United States started but a young woman shoved him harshly and shushed him.

"The welcome speech is about to start!" She protested with angered eyes.

Something inside the Russian snapped and he barked a harsh, "Back the f*ck up!" Though everything came out in his native language so the woman only stared back like a deer in headlights.

A small smile formed against the American's lips. He found himself liking the other more and more. With dark eyes brimming with joy, he leaned up on his tiptoes and whispered, "Thank you."

Those simple words brought a wave of pride and happiness to the pale, slender Russian which wiped the sour expression, he once sported, right off his sharp jaw.

🤫 ^Time Skip brought to you by Russia's vampire looking *ss^ 🤫

Slender and pale fingers clutched a schedule filled with classes that a normal student would never take in a million years. Of course, Russia had read over this schedule thousands of times before even moving into his house, but his intrusive thoughts made him keep a copy with him. "Botany." His clumsy accent botched the English word like a pig to the slaughter. He shook his head and looked up to find whatever classroom was hiding behind the corners of the clean and large hallways of the college. It was ridiculous the classes he had to take as a country representative and even more ridiculous how difficult this college made it for him to be accepted here. His eyes turned to slits as he recalled the shady deal his government negotiated so that he could study abroad. Usually country representatives stayed with their own country for studies, but a much bigger plot clung heavily onto the Russian's very large and muscular back which made him shiver. He bit the side of his lip and entered a classroom mounted with a wooden board over the doorframe with the words proudly presenting the difficult pronouncing word: 'Botany.'

"Ah, welcome, welcome!" A man with large framed glasses and a warm brown apron, which hugged his chest tightly, smiled sweetly while clasping his hands. "I'm Mr. Khloris! Please have a seat anywhere in the room!" Russia's eyes only travelled around, barely hearing what the man said to him. He took a small step and could barely ground himself to the floor as plants seemed to spring from every corner of the classroom. It was beyond beautiful, the way the sunlight tickled their bright green leaves and the way the wind brushed gently against the delicate blooms, and most importantly the way the bees and butterflies would swoop gracefully between potted plants only due to the windows being wide open.

"Wow." His lips moved involuntarily in a deep amazed whisper.

Suddenly, a hand gently encircled his wrist and he found the tanned American looking up at him with wide brown eyes. "We should sit together!" His voice bubbled excitedly with even more warmth than the room already contained yet his facial expression communicated something was wrong with the deep furrow of his red, white, and blue eyebrows.

"Sure." The Russian lifted his eyes to find the whole class staring at the two with an expression he couldn't recognize. Slowly, it seemed, they made their way through the maze of beauty and sat down in the very back together.

"So you like flowers, huh?" The American leaned back in his seat balancing with the grace and talent of a ballerina.

The Russian blinked for a moment, still processing all the events that happened today. "They just... took my breath away." His gaze lingered on the other's face trying to see if the white, red, and blue brows would furrow again. Only a very played out smirk covered the other's lower face, but his eyes sent another shiver down the Russian's back. In the deep, dark pools of the American's eyes, visible, heartbreaking pain poured from his soul.

Soon, the American broke the eye contact and looked up as well. "Oh yes, I could definitely take a nap here." He joked but Russia could tell his heart wasn't all in it. A quick glance was thrown at the Russian's face, but immediately was turned at the large table before them. Tanned fingers scribbled out a series of numbers that the Russian slowly translated in his mind. "Here." The small paper was slid across the table and in front of the very confused Russian. He leaned down and tried to read the messy handwriting of the other. 'This is my private phone number.'

The Russian's eyes widened as he instinctively covered the paper with his large hands. His lips gaped like a fish grasping for air. "Are you insane?" He whispered while locking eyes with the American.

The United States simply shrugged and chewed on the back on his sleek black pen. "I trust you."

That was the very problem Russia had... he was supposed to win the American's trust and get valuable information like this phone number so that his country would have a few legs up on the capitalist country. "Look I can't have this." Russia slid the paper right back towards the American and crossed his arms to calm his pounding heart.

Slowly, red, white, and blue eyebrows furrowed together, but this time into a broken expression. "I- I understand." His voice shook almost like he was about to cry, but he crossed his arms and placed his head on the desk.

The Russian felt horrible, but he was trying to protect the other who had only shown him kindness since he'd arrived. That was better, right, cutting him out of his life to protect the American's deep state secrets.

🤫 ^Time Skip brought to you by America snoring in class^🤫

A few weeks of ignoring each other rolled by and Botany class became one of Russia's worst classes. Well, to be more exact, America would give his best attempts to become friends with the pale giant, but Russia would deny every single compliment, gift, and high-five the American would throw his way. It was exhausting to Russia to watch the heartbreak on the tanned American's face. He tried to bury himself in his studies so that the guilt wouldn't consume him but the American's deep frown stayed seated in his mind.

"Today class, I need you to partner up and pick a seed! This will be one of your most important projects because it costs 70% of your grade." Mr. Khorlis' voice brought Russia back towards reality.

Russia breathed in deeply and looked around exasperatedly. Everyone already seemed partnered up and not one single pair of eyes were searching around the room besides his own. Slowly, he turned to glance at his desk buddy who had his head down like always.

The American peeked through a narrow opening in his man-made pillow and immediately locked eyes with Russia. The surprise nearly popped from his iris as he quickly squeezed his eyes shut once again.

"I guess we're partners." The sentence seemed to leave a stinging sensation in the air between them.

"All right! Come up here and write down your and your partner's name and I'll help you grab a pot and a plant." Mr. Khorlis' called with a large smile. Despite Russia's current dislike with Botany, he still liked Mr. Khorlis' buzzing personality.

"I'll go grab everything." The Russian muttered quickly and stood up. He didn't even check if America responded to him, but he was guessing that the other remained silent regardless. With an unamused expression, he stood at the back of the line, towering over his classmates. He had gotten used to being ignored by everyone and the weird looks constantly thrown his way. He wondered if America was treated the same way, but it was better not knowing anything about the class napper. Finally, the line cleared up and Russia leaned over to write America's and his name down at the very bottom of the paper.

"I expect great things from you two!" Mr. Khorlis buzzed with a bright smile.

Russia couldn't help but to smile and glance back at his partner. Disbelief crossed his face once seeing America's sad brown eyes staring back at him. The American immediately glanced down upon being caught and hid his face in the cradle of his arms. "I do too." The Russian turned towards his warm teacher, but only found a calculating look glued to Mr. Klorlis' face.

He immediately shook it away with a smile. "Here. I have just the plant for you guys." He pressed a small seed bag into the pale Russian's hands along with pointing towards some fertilizer and a pot. "Please do some research before planting that one." Mr. Khorlis smiled tenderly and clasped his hands, which was now a common habit Russia noticed from the other.

"Of course." The Russian nodded determinedly. His studies meant a lot to him and he took them very seriously. He picked up all needed supplies and brought them to the back of the class. He was surprised to find America already on his laptop searching through websites about plants.

"It's a moth orchid." He mumbled in a monotone voice. "Sometimes they can be hard to grow and take care of."

"How did you...?" The Russian stumbled on his words stupidly, but decided to stop mid-sentence. The less talking the better. "It doesn't matter. I'll take it to my house and plant it. I promise to take very good care of it."

An unreadable expression crossed the American's face. "No, I want to plant it." After an awkward pause stifled between them the American added a, "Please."

"Alright, I guess." Russia scratched the back of his head with an uncertain look. As long as the project remained at his house, he wouldn't be able to learn anything about America's whereabouts which in turn protected the American.

🤫 ^Time Skip brought to you by Mr. Khorlis being ridiculously nosy in his student's business^ 🤫

After his long array of classes, Russia sat on the very bottom marble step of his beloved college. It was agreed between him and America that they would meet here and Russia would show the other where he lived. He didn't understand the wild patter of his heart, but none of it mattered. All he was worried about was the fact that America would be in his house in mere minutes. A light pitter-patter snapped Russia out of his thoughts and on focus of the smaller framed American descending the steps gracefully. "Sorry you had to wait." His soft voice almost called out in a musical laugh.

"It's no problem at all." The Russian stood awkwardly up on his feet and fell into step beside the very man he's been avoiding for weeks. "It's a pretty short drive, so no rush."

America nodded while chewing on his bottom lip and scanning the parking lot for his bright, cherry convertible. "And you're sure your roommate won't mind?"

"Roommate?" The Russian blinked while his last two brain cells grasped for straws. "I don't have one."

"Oh... I thought. Never-mind." The American shook his head and slipped his sunglasses on before throwing his huge backpack into the back of his now found convertible. "Which one is yours?"

"That small blue one." Russia, practically burning to jolt out of there, turned quickly to point out his vehicle.

"Got it. See you in a bit." The American smiled dryly which left Russia with an odd sensation running down his back.

"R-right." He awkwardly waved and dashed away to his car a few feet away. He prayed that planting the seed together wouldn't be this awkward. Just as he hopped into the warm comfort of the driver seat, the sky dumped its sorrows all over the population below. "Damn." The Russian muttered before carefully pulling out of his spot and leading the American out of the weaving turns of the parking lot. Just as he said, reaching his home took no time at all. It was a barren, modern type of home which could use a little love, but Russia had no intention of staying so why would that matter. The rain was shockingly cool against the warm Russian's skin which made him grin widely. His joy-filled eyes traveled to the America's cherry red car only to find the American shielding his face from the sky as if the raindrops tore holes into the smaller male's delicate skin. Without even thinking, Russia grabbed an umbrella and held it over the other's head.

The American looked up with shocked brown eyes and slightly parted lips.

Russia's heart pounded in his chest as his eyes roamed over the American's sun-kissed face. In this moment, he regretted grabbing the umbrella but at the same time whatever was happening between them felt very right. The rain kept falling around them with a comforting pitter-patter that nearly matched the rhythm of Russia's heart.

"Russia... I don't understand what I did wrong." Tears began to form into the American's warm eyes which nearly made Russia fall to his knees.

"Y-you didn't do anything." Russia's pale blue eyes flickered to the ground, not able to meet the other's gaze.

"There must be something! I have worked very hard to be your friend because you understand the difficulty of what we are!" The emotion in the American's voice set a fire within the Russian's insides.

His whole being wanted to be friendly with the other, to do all the small things that friendship brings along. Though, his government wanted to use the other for information and he couldn't comprise America out of the goodness of his heart. "I think we're just too different." He finally said with a voice as dull as a dark rain cloud.

"Nonsense! Are you even listening to yourself right now?" Frustration caused the smaller male to raise his voice with furrowed red, white, and blue eyebrows. Random raindrops, that dropped from his exotic hair, raced down his nose and cheeks which brought his tanned skin to life. "We are country representatives and have gone through stuff that others would never understand! I... I need you to be my friend." His voice broke down emotionally as his dark eyes pleaded with the Russian.

The taller male could no longer resist the other. The constant kindness finally made him buckle on his resolve. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just thought you could hang out with someone better than me." He fibbed a little which made him uncomfortable. His light blue eyes shifted to the ground due to his inability to look the other in the eye and lie to him.

A wide grin broke out across the American's rain-caked face. Such a change in the other's demeanor nearly cleared the storm clouds above the two. "Really? You're so silly, Russia! There's no one better than you besides me!" The American teased as his warm brown eyes gleamed with pure, abundant joy. "Now, let's go plant a moth orchid!" The conviction in the other's voice led the Russian to unlock his front door and welcome the little American inside.

As he silently watched the smaller male gush over their potted plant project, the thoughts inside the Russian's mind swarmed louder than a colony of bees. What if his government found out about his massive betrayal? What if America found out about his colossal lie? How could he possibly keep both ruses up? He was sure he would panic under the intense pressure. Maybe he could make the American hate him and no longer wish to be friends. A small, deceitful smile engulfed the Russian's lips as many clever plans ran through his mind. Though doubt soon crept into his mind due to him reminding himself of America's stubborn nature. His light blue eyes watched the back of the smaller male's figure as he worked diligently on their class project.

The man chirped happily throughout his work even though the Russian had no intention to reply to any of his quips.

Maybe everything would work out. Russia shook his head with a smile and pressed a gentle hand on the American's shoulder.

America looked up with a sweet smile and the two finished planting the difficult blooming moth orchid together.

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3178 words? My my!

I hope you enjoy this intro as much as I do!

- WORDSPERMINUTE