Hey guys! It's been awhile. This is an extension off of my other book 'The Return of Alfred Jones' except that it's an alternate for when Matthias and Alfred meet again. The events that happened in the past are still the same. If you haven't read The Return of Alfred Jones' yet I high recommend reading that before you read this otherwise it won't make any sense. Enjoy! WARNING: mentions of past bullying, mentions of past attempted rape, and angst. Btw this picks up after the bathroom scene.
————————————
Matthias watched Alfred run out of the bathroom with guilty eyes. Carlos was still staring at him and Gilbert with this dumbfounded, flabbergasted look on his face causing the Dane to internally wince. It was bad enough that Alfred had found out, but one of their teammates? It was obvious that their secret was no longer going to be one.

Carlos slammed the door behind himself with furious eyes. "Explain. now." The Cuban growled. Gilbert and Matthias straightened up at the growl thinking that Carlos (like any other person in their godforsaken town) was going to start yelling slurs at them. That was not the case. "W-We just—" Matthias tried to speak though it only came out as a stutter. "You just what?" Carlos raised an eyebrow at the two older teens. Gilbert managed to gather himself and spoke.

"He caught us! We panicked so-" "So,because he walked in on you guys, you decided the best course of action would be to try and force yourselves on him?" Carlos said tone angry. A silence overtook the room as Carlos' words sunk deep into Matthias and Gilbert's brains. Matthias sat down on a nearby bench placing his head in his hands as his mind dragged over the events that lead him to this moment.

Gilbert and he had been the last ones to leave practice so therefore were the last ones to shower and thus were left alone. Matthias thought it was ok to kiss Gilbert since they were alone though the albino was still hesitant. Gilbert was always afraid that they would get caught and outed to the entire town but Matthias had always reassured him that they wouldn't be caught because they would be careful. Matthias, in his lust filled haze, had forgotten to done the most basic of things when sneaking around.

Locking the door. And now not one but two people had found out and to make it worse they were people Matthias couldn't intimidate. Matthias shoots a look towards Gilbert only to see the German leaning against a row of lockers with a blank look on his pale face. Great, now all of Matthias' reassurance that they wouldn't get caught looks like bullshit. Matthias felt the guilt press down on his chest like a five hundred pound weight. This was all his fault. If he hadn't forgotten to lock the door then maybe Alfred wouldn't have stumbled in and saw them.

Alfred. Matthias' eyes widened as he suddenly remembered the blue eyed teen. He had forgotten about him until a second ago. Why had he done that to Alfred? It wasn't like he liked Alfred or anything. Sure, he found him attractive but Matthias figured that was only because Alfred was the only openly out person in their town. Never in a million years did he ever picture himself doing something like that to anyone.

It's just...having Alfred finally stand up to them after years of bullying made something in Matthias snap. It was like a new side of him had been unlocked and he couldn't put it back. Before he even knew it, the Dane was kissing Alfred. Matthias could remember the feel of Alfred's lips against his. That cloud like softness that had Matthias craving for more. But now that his heads clear, he regrets it. Oh God, he regrets it.

Shame joined the ever growing guilt as Matthias' chest felt even heavier. Tears unconsciously began to bud in his pale, dark blue eyes as the realization of what he's done and what's going to happen finally crashes upon him. He tried to rape Alfred. He got himself and Gilbert caught. He is the reason they will be outed. Soon tears were streaming down Matthias' face and he was sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry..I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Matthias kept apologizing hoping it would lessen the weight on his chest. It didn't. And why should it? It is after all, his fault. Matthias kept sobbing as the other two football players watched on in shock. Gilbert slowly crept over to where Matthias was sitting and sat down next to him. The German put an arm around the Danish teen silently reassuring him that everything would be ok. He knew it wouldn't be but it was the least he could do it try and calm Matthias down.

Gilbert looked up at Carlos with a pleading look in his eyes. "Please don't tell anyone. Please." He hated begging but it seemed to be the only option left. Gilbert expected the Cuban to laugh at his pathetic begging. Tell him that he shouldn't hope for the impossible. Though that wasn't what happened. No, instead Carlos sat down on Matthias' other side and put an arm around the Dane like Gilbert had previously done.

"Don't worry, I won't." Carlos said his tone neutral as he stretched his arm around to hug both his teammates. Matthias seemed to have heard the words through his crying because he looked up at the brown eyed teen with tear filled eyes. "Really?" He muttered voice raspy from crying so much. "Mhm. Just please stop crying, okay?" Matthias wiped the tears from his eyes as he tried to calm himself down.

He suddenly remembered something.

"What about Alfred? Won't he tell?" Matthias inquired though he was sent a reassuring, promising look from both Gilbert and Carlos. "Ve'll make sure he von't." Gilbert promised while Carlos nodded in agreement. Matthias was a little worried about the meaning behind the albino's words but pushed it off to the side for now. The crying had made him really tried. Tired enough to make him snuggle against Gilbert and shut his eyes before falling asleep the worries of the world pushed aside as he drifted off into the world of unconsciousness.
———————————
Turns out they didn't need to worry about Alfred telling anyone because he had left that same night. According to his two friends Hercules and Gal, Alfred had packed up a bag, said goodbye to them, and left without telling anyone where he was going. Matthias knew that it had to be because of that night. Because of what they had done. Because of what he had done.

It didn't get any better when Hercules and Gal would send him and his friends almost identical glares of hatred and fury. They knew that the someone or another on the football team had to be responsible for Alfred's departure but could never figure out who it was. Looks like Alfred ended up not telling anyone after all. Memories of that night stuck in Matthias' head though they eventually were forgotten because he got distracted with school and football.

He wasn't the smartest person in the room but he had finally managed to get his grades up enough to have a potential future in college. Whether it be through academics or sports, Matthias knew he was going to get a scholarship to some college far away enough for him to move and never look back at this town.

Matthias ended up getting into Yale on an football scholarship which was celebrated throughout his team. It gave him a sort of peace knowing that he was going to leave this town and have a chance to be himself. He could finally potentially come out to his friends on the football team and it wouldn't matter or not if he was accepted because he was leaving. He was leaving and never looking back.

Matthias' friends had also been accepted into prominent colleges all on scholarship or another. It was relieving to know that his friends weren't going to be stuck in the same place for the rest of their lives. They all deserved more than that. Matthias had decided the day that he got his acceptance letter into Yale that he would tell his friends that he was gay. So, as he and his friends (Gilbert, Carlos, Antonio, Alistair, Sadik, and Francis), were packing up his room he decided now would be the perfect time.

"Hey guys, can I tell you something?" Matthias asked causing all heads in the room to turn to him in curiosity. "Sure amigo. What is it?" Antonio inquired setting down the box he was going to carry to Matthias' car. "You guys have to promise me you won't freak out." Matthias told them causing the feeling of curiosity to rise even more. What was Matthias so nervous about? "Sure, okay." Sadik said waving his hand nonchalantly. Matthias felt his confidence grow at that and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Alright, here goes nothing....I'm kind of sort of gay." Matthias said causing a silence to fill the room. Matthias had started looking around the room frantically worried about facing rejection when Antonio let out a chuckle. "Join the club." He remarked still chuckling. Now that threw Matthias for a loop. "W-What?" He stuttered out watching as amused smirks spread across his friends faces'. "Ah yes, everyone 'ere prefers the company of men." Francis told Matthias who felt his jaw drop at the news. All of his friends are gay? How could he not have known?

When Matthias didn't say anything, Carlos spoke up. "Actually up until now, we thought you were the only somewhat straight person in this group. I guess that's not really the case now, isn't it?" Carlos laughed smirk morphing into a smile. Matthias broke from his shock and smiled happily. "Yeah I guess not." With that they finished clearing out Matthias' room and saying their goodbyes. They all vowed to meet up in a year and to stay in touch with one another.

Matthias set out for Yale thinking that he would finally be able to leave his past behind him.

He had no idea how wrong he was.
————————
The Danish man arrived at his new school with a smile on his face. He parked his car and went to the front office to get the information about his dorms and classes. Apparently he was rooming with a physics major since the fraternities hadn't started accepting pledges yet. Not that he wanted to be part of a fraternity anyway.

Matthias went over to the dorms and found his room in record time. The lady at the front desk had given him a key so he opened the door quietly and peeked inside. One side of the room was decorated while the other side was blank. Matthias didn't see anyone in the room so he assumed that his new roommate was out at the moment. The Dane stepped inside the room taking all it in. He was finally far away from his old, hick town. Free to be himself. Be able to forgive himself for his past actions. Be able to forget—

"Matthias?"

Matthias turned around at the mention of his name but froze at what he saw. Right there before him was Alfred. Alfred fucking Kirkland. The name brought back so many memories. So many unpleasant, sleepless night memories that had Matthias feeling that familiar cocktail of shame and guilt. "Uh.." Matthias had no idea what to say. I mean, what do you say to a guy you bullied for years then tried to rape? It didn't exactly spark up a lot of conversations.

"Matthias?" Alfred repeated hesitantly stepping into the small dorm room. The Dane snapped out of his daze as the American stepped closer. "Uh...Hi?" Was all Matthias could really say. It was a little shocking to see Alfred after all theses years. "What're you doing in my room?" The other blonde asked the Dane who tilted his head in confusion. "Your room? This is my room." He told Alfred whose eyes widened. "Wait...so you're my roommate?" An uncomfortable silence filled the room as Matthias replied.

"Yeah, I guess so." Alfred went over to his bed and quietly sat down on it eyes now looking at his shoes like they were the most interesting thing in the world. Matthias wasn't quite sure what to do. On one hand he should probably leave and ask for a different dorm but....

Matthias slowly crept over to where Alfred was sitting noticing how the American tensed up with each step he took. The Danish man stood in front of Alfred and crouched down so he could look Alfred in the eye. "Alfred..." Matthias whispered the name causing the owner of said name to also look him in the eyes.

Matthias could remember all the pain he had caused those eyes. He could remember beating Alfred up so bad that he needed to go to the hospital. All because he was in denial of who he truly was and was too afraid to admit it. He was a horrible person that deserved to be punished for what he had done but right now all he could do was apologize and hope for the best.

"I'm sorry, Alfred. I'm so sorry." Matthias murmured causing the other blue eyed young man to gasp in shock. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you. For how I treated you. It wasn't right for me to do that. Any of that." Matthias could feel tears start to blossom in his blue eyes as he apologized. He really was a horrible person. Unconsciously he began to cry and rested his head on Alfred's knee as he sobbed. Look at him, crying like a baby when it's Alfred who should be crying not him.

Matthias probably traumatized Alfred after that night but Matthias was the one crying. As Matthias continued to sob, Alfred was staring down at his former bully in shock. It had been years since he had last seen anyone from his old town let alone one of his former bullies so to see Matthias here of all places was shocking to say the least. And on top of that he was crying like a baby and apologizing like it was his dying words.

Alfred knew that he needed to get Matthias calm before they could properly speak to each about anything. Though memories of that night still lingered in his head. When Matthias kissed him, when he put his hands on him. All of it made Alfred feel a bit nauseous but he pushed that to the side for now. An idea suddenly sparked in his brain and he raised a hand.

Alfred slowly combed that hand through Matthias' hair causing the Danish young man to look up at him in surprise. Matthias' eyes were wide and filled with tears as he gazed up at Alfred with regret and remorse. It was clear that Matthias had also been somewhat haunted by the memories of that night and Alfred wasn't sure how to feel about that. So he took a deep breath before speaking.

"I don't think I'm ready to forgive you..." Alfred paused when he saw more tears fall from Matthias' eyes. "But I'm willing to try and see how it goes." Now that really had Matthias crying. Alfred was willing to try and forgive him after everything he had done? It was more than he could have ever asked for. "Now please, just calm down okay?" Matthias nodded at the American's words and proceeded to try and gather himself.

It took a good minute but he finally stopped crying and moved away from Alfred. "Thank you. Thank you." Matthias repeated grinning broadly at the other blonde who gave him a soft, hesitant smile. It was going to take some time but Alfred had a feeling he would, a some point in the future, be able to forgive Matthias for all his actions. "Now, I'm assuming you just got here. Do you need help unpacking?" Alfred asked earning a surprised nod from Matthias. "Cool. Let's go then." Alfred stood up from the bed and offered Matthias a hand which he gladly took.

The road to forgiveness is a long one but Matthias is wiling to make the trip.
————————————
So after that, classes started up so they rarely ever saw each. But when they did, they would either watch TV together or just talk. Matthias was able to find out where Alfred went after he had run away from Hetalia. Apparently he had made it all the way to the East Coast and had been taken in from off the streets by a family. They had another son named Allen who became his older brother and Alfred's name was changed to Jones instead of Kirkland.

After leaving Hetalia Alfred flourished as a person. He got high grades and became the valedictorian of his new high school. He was also accepted by his new family when he came out to them which was a blessing. Alfred no longer had to fear about being bullied or harassed because of his sexuality. Matthias wished he had found that kind of freedom like Alfred had earlier in life. Though he does have it now so that's all that matters.

Matthias had a feeling Alfred would forgive him soon so that was also something to look forward to. However, there was a problem. Matthias isn't quite sure when they started but the Dane had started developing feelings for the American. In his defense, Alfred had blossomed from a weed into a beautiful rose.

Alfred always used to look sickly when they were younger. Like he wasn't eating enough or something like that. Alfred's hair used to be slightly long but it looked like he had gotten it cut and now it was shorter than Matthias' own hair. His sky blue eyes were also so full of life and happiness so unlike when they were in high school and they were usually filled with panic and fear.

His body had evolved as well. His once skin and bones body was now layered with muscle and his previously pale skin was now sun kissed. Alfred had also hit a growth spurt to where he could look Matthias in the eye but the Dane still towered over him by and inch or so. And it wasn't just Alfred's body. It was actually Alfred's kindness and forgiveness that had won him over.

Despite their history with one another, Alfred treated him like he would any of his other friends and that made Matthias extremely happy. Matthias didn't want to ruin this friendship that was blooming between him and Alfred with these feelings but these feelings just weren't going away.

It had gotten to the point where Matthias wanted to act on them but he didn't want to scare Alfred off.

Ugh, what's he going to do?
————————————
Alfred gazed at Matthias from across the dorm as they were both sat on their beds working on class work. It had been almost six months since he had first met Matthias again and Alfred was happy to have had the chance to get to know Matthias. They had basically known each other most of their lives but only really ever spoke when Matthias was insulting him and his friends.

It's amazing how well you can get to know someone when they aren't punching you in the face almost every day. The thing is, Alfred may be getting to know Matthias a little too well. As in he had started developing feelings for his fellow blonde. Romantic feelings at that. Alfred didn't know why these feelings had started forming all he knew was that they were there and they were there to stay. It's kind of crazy, you know. He fell in love with a person he had hated at one point of his life but now he doesn't.

It seems all the hates passed over and no longer clouds Alfred's mind. Alfred wanted to act on these feelings but he was scared. He was scared that Matthias would be disgusted and wouldn't want anything to do with him. Matthias had told him that he was gay about three months into their friendship but Alfred is still worried. What if Matthias doesn't like him that way? What if he starts screaming insults at Alfred like he did back in high school?

Alfred shook his head trying to rid himself of any negative thoughts. Alfred knew he had to tell the Dane about his feelings at some point so he figured it would be best to do it when they were alone and couldn't be disturbed. So, with a heavy heart, Alfred spoke.

"Hey Matt..." Alfred said setting down his pencil and notebook when Matthias looked his way. "Yeah, Alfred?" The light blonde replied looking away from his notes to look at Alfred. The American shifted nervously under the Dane's gaze but remembered the words he was going to say. "Can I tell you something?" Alfred asked which made Matthias out down his own notebook and pencil and make his way towards Alfred sitting beside him on his bed. "Of course. You can tell me anything." The Danish man offered the nervous American man a smile which calmed his nerves a little.

Well, here goes nothing. "You see...for the past few months I've kinda sorta had a crush on you." Alfred admitted a blush forming on his face at his own words. Matthias stared at him in shock. Alfred returned his feelings? Alfred returned his feelings! Matthias' smile widened and he let out a manly giggle. "That's a relief. I was worried you wouldn't be able to return my feelings." Matthias said causing Alfred's eyes to widen. "Y..Your feelings?" Alfred murmured shocked as Matthias slowly wrapped an arm around him smile morphing into a grin.

"Yeah, I'm crazy about you. I was just worried you wouldn't like me because of you know..." The unspoken words what I did rang silently throughout the room. "We can make this work. We just have to take it slow." Alfred told him smiling his own bright smile at the Dane who blushed. "O..Ok. We can take it slowly." It was probably for the best anyway given that they had just started a friendship.

Matthias blushed even more when Alfred leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. "Now let's get back to work." He told him to which he received a nod for his troubles. Matthias got off the bed and went back over to his own work smiling as he pressed a hand against the cheek Alfred had kissed. That weight on his chest was gone and had now been replaced with a warmth like no other.

It looks like Matthias finally found his redemption.
—————————
Hey guys! Any thoughts to share?