Chapter Four

It had been three days since Alfred forgot Matt's birthday, and Al had stopped even responding to Matt, which he didn't know was only making matters worse. Matthew had stopped trying, he gave up on trying to talk to his brother, the only person he thought he could trust.

He missed Kumajiro, and hated that he snapped on the poor bear. He wanted to see him again, and apologize. He hoped Kuma would come back, but deep down, Matt knew he would never see his favourite little bear again, and that broke his already shattered heart.

As Matt made his daily pancakes, he overheard Alfred on the phone with who could only think of as Arthur. "Yeah, I'll be at the world meeting... It's in London this time right?... Sure, see ya there in a few hours dude!... See ya!"

Matthew knew about the world meeting, and dreaded going. Every time, Ivan would always sit on him, like he wasn't even there. For some reason, he was still obliged to go, but this time, he desperately didn't want to. He already felt ignored and invisible enough, he didn't need his mood to worsen even more. So he decided, he wasn't going to go. Not this time. Not ever. He was tired of being ignored, and it's not like they would even notice he was gone anyways, so what did it matter if he was there or not?

As Matt was lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize he was crying. When he finally snapped out of it, he reached his hand up and felt his cheek as a tear hit his fingers. Then, for the first time, he didn't care about his precious pancake, and Matthew ran upstairs and flung open his closet. He grabbed his Toronto Maple Leaves backpack, and threw it on his bed. Matt then rushed around his room and bathroom, grabbing anything he deemed important and stuffing them into his bag.

After he finished packing his bag, he went downstairs and realized that Alfred had already left for the world meeting. This was his chance. He stepped in front of the door, but hesitated opening it. Was he really doing this? Was he really, running away? This wasn't like any other time he stepped out of his home, because this time he had no intention of coming back.

As Matthew stood at his door, he hesitated, and his mind filled with conflicting thoughts. What if he does notice? I don't want to worry him. Can Alfred really be trusted to look after himself? What if he sets the house on fire? What if he gets hurt? What if he misses me? What if he gets mad at me? What if, what if, what if? What if he doesn't notice I'm gone? Matthew closed his eyes, in fear of starting to cry again. He realized that there was no way Alfred would notice if he was gone or not, he didn't even talk to him anymore!

Now filled with many different emotions, Matthew opened the door, and stepped outside. He took one last look inside his once beloved home, and shut the door behind him. With a heavy breath, Matt began to walk away, not really knowing where he was going, but he knew it was away from here.

Matt decided he wouldn't leave the country, but he would leave his homes general area. He was too afraid to go any farther than that. As he walked, he felt more and more upset. There was nothing he could do, this had to be the only option... right?

After a while, the sun started to set, and he spotted a small alleyway, that, with a little cleaning, could make a decent shelter. He ventured into it, and placed down his bag, pulling out an old bed sheet and wrapping himself in it as he laid down. This was going to be his first night away from home, and it scared him. He started becoming afraid, and clutched his blanket tightly.

He realized that maybe this really was a bad idea, and began regretting his decision. As he thought about going home, he realized it was too late. He had committed to this, there was no turning back now. As he realized that his decision was now set in stone, he got scared, and cried himself to sleep in those dark, cold alleyways. Where he would stay, forever.