Chapter 7

⚠Warning⚠ This chapter contains mild angst!

( Germany's POV)

     Germany was awake at 3:45 A.M. He had just woken up from a vague nightmare that had left him drenched in sweat. He almost always had nightmares, but he couldn't remember most of them. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom. He sat on the floor for a little while. It was much cooler in there, and it helped Germany calm his nerves. He would've much rather opened the window to get some air, but he didn't want his father to know he could open it and get out. His mind wandered back to the swan at the hidden lake for a moment. He wondered what it was doing and if it missed him. He wondered who missed him. Israel, he thought, would miss him if he was gone. He thought about simply ending everything on several occasions, but something always held him back. He wasn't sure what, but for some reason he kept going.

     Germany huffed and went back into his room. He would live to draw, but it was too early to have any light on whatsoever. The sun hadn't risen yet either. He sat on his bed and let his thoughts go wild. Russia crossed his mind. Would Russia miss him? He doubted it. He wondered if Russia only asked him to have lunch with him because he pitied him. Germany ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. How could he think of something like that? Russia was so kind to him. How dare he consider him to be nothing by a sympathizer? Germany hated himself for thinking that. He sighed and laid back down. He knew he wasn't going back to sleep. He sat up again and walked over to his window. Unlocking it, he opened it up all the way and sat down. He looked up at the stars. Their twinkling gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, things would get better.

     He went back into his room and closed the window after sitting outside for a while. It was about 5:15 when he came back in. Germany only had to wait a little longer before he could exit one nightmare and enter another one. After a few minutes, he decided he was going to draw. He knew there wasn't much light, but he didn't care. Germany put on his glasses and found his sketchpad and some pencils. He drew a cat with large, brown, starry eyes. Around it's neck was a bandana with a white, blue, and red-striped pattern on it. Germany was confused as to why he had chosen such a pattern. After staring at it, he knew: it was Russia's flag.  But why had he drawn it?

     Germany finally got up and got dressed at 6:00. He decided on a brown sweater and black jeans. The sun had finslly begun to rise, and his room was illuminated by its dim light. He grabbed his sketchpad and pencils off his bed and placed them in his backpack. He grabbed his things and headed downstairs. Reich was on the couch, still passed out from the night before. He must've had just enough energy to move himself from the floor to the furniture before blacking out. Even in his sleep, Reich was frightening. Not wanting to be in his presence longer than he had to, Germany left in a haste.

     Germany walked up to Israel's house on the way to school. He saw his friend sitting on the porch. Germany walked up to him. Upon closer inspection, he found that Israel was asleep. He had dozed off in a sitting position. Germany quietly whispered his friend's name. He got no answer. He whispered again, but slightly louder.

"Israel!" He said in a yelling whisper. Israel, startled, yelped and nearly fell down the stairs on his porch.

" Oh hey Germany!" Israel said after regaining balance.

"Hey. Why are you out here so early? Usually you're inside."

"Well, my parents came home with some rowdy friends. They were making too much noise, so I came outside. Guess I went to sleep out here before coming back in."

     Israel looked slightly drowsy. Germany felt bad for his friend. Israel pulled out a box of cereal from behind him. He would have to survive on whatever sleep he got and the energy from the food to survive school. Germany had no idea where the cereal had come from or how he didn't notice it before. The two walked up to school slowly that morning. Israel needed all the cereal he could, and they had time to kill anyways.

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     Germany and Israel walked to Germany's locker together. They still had a little while before they had to get to their period, so they took their time gathering materials for the day. No sooner had Germany gotten his stuff when Russia and another country walked up to them.

"Hello, Germany!" Russia said cheerful.

"Hey Russia!"

" I don't know if you've met my friend yet. This is Japan. She met your friend the other day."

" Yeah, I met Tofu Blob over here on the way to one of my classes!" Japan chimed in.

Israel huffed in slight annoyance.

"I have a name, you know!"

"I figured. You do look like tofu, though!"

Germany had to suppress a giggle; he knew how much Israel hated being called a tofu blob.

" This is Israel" Germany said to Russia.

"Sup!" Israel said to Russia.

Japan stepped in front of Russia.

"Mape and Tofu Block over here need to have a quick chat. You two stay here" she announced.

"Really?" Israel said, but he followed Japan further down the hallway. The two left, leaving Germany and Russia together.

"So, do you wanna come eat lunch with me again?" Russia asked.

"R-really?" Germany said, slightly flustered. "S-sure!"

"Okay!"

     The warning bell for class rang. Japan and Israel came jogging back to the Russia and Germany. Waving at each other, Russia and Germany parted ways with Russia and Japan. As Germany turned to get to his class, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a  unfamiliar country staring daggers at him.

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     When Germany went outside to meet Russia, the sky was full of fluffy clouds. They slowly drifted in the wind, almost as if they were calmly cruising in the breeze. Germany climbed the ladder and sat next to Russia.

" Have you seen the clouds today?" He said when Germany sat down.

" Yeah, aren't they pretty? You don't get to see them too often during the day, but they're really nice to watch."

"Yeah.. Hey, can I ask for your help?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"I have this math problem on my homework that I'm struggling with. I was wondering if you knew how to solve it."

     Russia pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket. It was a printed page of math problems. Most had been done, but there was one that had clearly been erased several times.

" Well, you were on the right track" Germany started. "But you divided the fractions improperly."

     Germany began writing on the back of Russia's paper. His handwriting was significantly neater than the writin on the front. Germany showed Russia where his error was. After that, the answer made much more sense than the previous one.

"Wow, thank you so much!" Russia said after they were finished.

"No problem! Oh, and can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure!"

"D-don't answer if it makes you uncomfortable, but... are you gay?"

"Yes."

So Israel was right.

"I was just wondering, Israel told me you were, but I wanted to make sure it was true."

"Yep."

"I-I'm pansexual."

"Oh, that's cool!"

"Yeah.."

      Germany shared Russia's honey cake again. He felt bad for eating his friend's food, but he didn't want to be rude by declining. They sat in silence for a bit, watching the clouds blow by. Germany looked up at Russia. He noticed how Russia's brown eyes glittered in the sunlight. They were so pretty...much prettier than his. Russia must've noticed him staring, because he turned to Germany and chuckled.

"What, are my eyes hypnotixing you or something?"

"No, it's just...they're really pretty." Germany said quietly.

"Heh. Thanks." Russia said. Germany thought he saw him blush a little.

"Well anyways, I think it's time to go inside."

" Yeah, you're probably right."

"Want to meet outside again? I mean...only if you want to."

"Yeah, sounds great!"

"So, I'll see you in a bit?"

"Yeah!"

     Russia and Germany got off the roof and went inside. Germany,  for a reason he couldn't figure out, was still thinking about the way Russia's eyes had shone.

     (Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! This one is also a little more chill like the previous one, but the next one will probably be more intense ;). Also, I ,add better art for Chapter 5! I didn't use the circle tools and it's actually not too bad! I know I'm a little behind on the art, but I'll catch up at some point.)

Story word count: 1, 447 words