"Wow... (Name), I didn't know you had it in you." Whistled Matthias as he stood over Alfred, watching as the American was brought back to his senses after being punched by the girl.

"Damn, girl! You pack a real punch!" Exclaimed Feliks as he joined his friend by her side as she was still shaking her hand.

"Maybe, doesn't mean it didn't hurt..." She muttered, curling her fingers over and over to make sure she didn't break any of them.

Matthew chuckled from beside her as he went to go help his brother up. "What can you do, though? It isn't like he didn't deserve it."

"Thanks for being on my side, bro. Really appreciate ya." Groaned Alfred as he was pulled to his feet by his twin. He rubbed the already bruising cheek from the punch Matthias gave him moments earlier. There was sure to be another bruise forming soon enough from (Name)'s strike.

"S-Still... Have to admit, that was impressive." Toris chuckled from beside Feliks, looking over at (Name).

"With punches like that, it's a wonder why you don't just beat up Gilbert or Ivan." Tino added.

"You're joking, right?" Scoffed the girl, looking down at her reddening knuckles. "Ivan is basically a building, and trying to beat up the vice principal's grandson is basically asking for expulsion."

Matthias shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, at least you don't have anything to worry about for the next week as far as Gilbert's concerned. That's how long they decided to suspend him for." He explained as he went back to join (Name). "Here, let me look at your hand. I've been playing hockey enough to tell a broken hand."

As Alfred stood, watching his brother carefully take (Name)'s hand and look it over, he noticed how carefully she was being tended to by her several friends that came in her defence. Matthias was standing over Matthew's shoulder to make sure he wasn't doing anything wrong while Tino tried to gently ask Matthias to give the Canadian some space. Meanwhile Felix was chatting up a storm next to (Name) with Toris by his side, talking about how with the girl's strength, she could take on anyone she wanted if they ever gave her trouble.

Then it came to him.

This girl, the girl that had been picked on for the majority of two years who had been a loner up until a week ago, she so much stronger than anyone ever gave her credit for... The bruise I'm gonna get is proof enough... She could take over the school if she wanted, but she had me and everyone else kicking her down.

No more.

I'm not going to let it happen again.

Walking over to join his brother, Alfred watched as he gently turned (Name)'s hand over and brusher her knuckles with his thumb. "Well, you know how to hold a punch, at least. You didn't tuck your thumb and you clenched your hand tight enough so that when you made the hit, you didn't break anything."

"Alfred, you just have a jaw made of steel or something." Mumbled (Name), glancing up at Matthew's twin. "Because it felt like I was hitting a brick wall."

"Well, Al always has been kinda hard-headed." Chuckled Matthias, moving an arm to ruffle Alfred's hair.

Letting out a laugh, Alfred looked down at (Name) and gave her a small smile. "I guess all those years playing football haven't rattled me too much."

As the sound of the bell ringing to end the Flex period reached the football field, the group of students looked back to the school building as the school day had officially ended.

"Well, looks like I gotta go." Spoke Felix. "I need to drive Toris and his buddies home... (Name), I will see you tomorrow. The rest of you, see ya around!" Felix chirped his farewell, making his way back to the school building with Toris following behind, the latter giving one wave to the group of students remaining on the field as he followed his friend.

Matthias slung an arm around Tino's shoulders, smiling at (Name). "The boys and I are gonna head over to Berwald's place to get some homework done. (Name), glad to know you can knock any guy on his ass with one punch. That's something to be proud of."

Tino chuckled in response to Matthias' comment, meeting (Name)'s gaze with a kind smile. "You be careful going home, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll make it just fine." (Name) assured, smiling as Tino and Matthias made their way off the field. Turning back to Matthew and Alfred, she couldn't help but notice the slightly awkward air. "So... Are you two... Cool, now?" She asked.

Matthew nodded, his hands moving to rest in his jeans pockets. "Yep. Al and I talked everything out last night. I told him that if he really wanted to change his tune, he needed to realize his mistakes and apologize to the one person who needed to hear him say sorry."

"And uh... I kinda did that, but um... If we're cool now is up to you. I mean, I said I wouldn't beat up on you anymore, but the choice to accept my apology is up to you." Alfred spoke quietly, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down at (Name).

Without giving it a moment's thought, (Name) spoke. "You took two punches on my behalf to day, Alfred... While those only pale in comparison to what I've had to endure for the past two years, I know that it probably took a lot of thinking to come to this decision... While I won't forget what you've done, I will accept your apology."

Upon hearing (Name)'s response, a large smile, probably the biggest she had ever seen on Alfred, broke out on the American teen's face. He quickly made his way to (Name), wrapping his arms around the girl and hugging her tightly. In a fluid motion, he lifted her off the ground and spun the girl around as he hugged her to him. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!" He cheered.

"A-Al! You're gonna break her!" Exclaimed Matthew worriedly, knowing the extent of his brother's strength. He was about to voice his concerns again, but was stopped by the sound of (Name)'s nervous laugh. He glanced up at the girl, watching as she carefully returned his brother's wild hug.

Alfred eventually let (Name) down, holding onto her shoulders to steady her from stumbling. "(Name)... Thank you, really. I promise to make everything up to you."

"Th-that's not necessary, Alfred. You don't have to-"

"I want to." He insisted, glancing over at his brother. "For both of you. I haven't been the brother to you that I should have been, Matt... I want you to know that I'm sorry for that."

Matthew shrugged his shoulders, a relaxed smile on his lips as he watched his friend and his brother. "Eh, you've been known to be an ass at times. I just chocked this up to you being even more of an ass than usual."

Alfred's smile faltered a bit, but he quickly regained his smile, moving his hands and stuffing them in his pockets. "Well, I promise from this day forward, I'm gonna be a new guy. No more Gilbert, and no more being an ass."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Al." Matthew chuckled, moving to stand next to (Name). "You going to meet with Arthur?"

"Yeah, I told him in History that I would hang with him for a while. You two stay out of trouble." With that, Alfred turned on his heel to head back to the school building.

Matthew looked down at (Name), who was looking up at him. "What?"

"You knew, didn't you?" She asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The Canadian chuckled as he began to walk back to the school building.

"You know why Alfred was following me!" (Name) accused light-heartedly as she ran after her friend to meet his pace. "You knew he was going to apologize but you wouldn't tell me that's why he was following me around all day!"

Looking back at (Name), Matthew couldn't help but smile. "I wanted to make sure he actually did it and didn't back out. If he was going to apologize, I told him that he had to be the one to do it without any help."

"You didn't even want to help him by telling me what he was really doing?"

"Nope. Since we were little, Al didn't really own up to his mistakes very well. This time, I was making sure that he did." Matthew explained, opening the door for (Name). "As much as I love my brother, I want him to grow up a bit. That includes making sure he knows that he did something wrong, and owning up to it."

(Name) couldn't help but give Matthew a fond smile for his explanation. "You're a good brother, but an even better friend."

Stepping closer to (Name), Matthew placed an arm around her shoulders as the two walked down the hall. "Don't I know it?"

~~~

Arthur glanced up from his book as he perched on one of the walls of the school building's front steps as his cousin made his way out of the front doors. He quirked a thick brow upon noticing Alfred's suddenly happy demeanor. The American was actually walking with a skip in his step.

"What's got you so chipper? A few hours ago you were absolutely dreadful to be around." Arthur observed, standing upright as he put his book away in his bag.

"I apologized to (Name)." Alfred answered simply, smiling brightly at his cousin.

The quirked brow quickly furrowed into a scowl, Arthur crossed his arms over his chest, assuming a pose that just shouted irritation. "Why would you do that? What suddenly changed your mind?"

Alfred paused, looking down at his cousin with a gleam of confusion in his baby blue orbs. "Why do you look so mad about it? I thought you would like that I'm being my own person for once."

"Because, you git! She-she's done nothing but turn Matthew against us! She's been nothing but an annoyance since she came to this place!" Arthur shouted. "Everything about her is feeble, vexing, and she's an above all nuisance on this entire school!!"

The look of confusion turned into one of disappointment, Alfred's brows furrowed and his smile was replaced with a frown. "Why do you have to be like that, Artie?" He asked simply, his voice remaining calm and collected. "(Name) doesn't deserve all the hate that she's been getting from most everyone in the school-"

"The hell she doesn't!!" Retorted Arthur, his scowl turning into a glare. "You have no idea how much she deserves what she's getting!!"

Alfred sighed, shifting his stance moving a hand to his jacket pocket. "What did she ever do to you, Artie? Why do you hate her so much?"

"She... She-" Before Arthur could continue, movement at the top of the stairs caught his attention. Upon turning, he noticed Matthew was standing at the top of the stairs with the very object of his hatred. Upon meeting (Name)'s gaze, he could feel his anger burn even deeper into his stomach. "She... She has taken everything from me." With that, Arthur snatched his backpack and stormed away from the school building.

Alfred looked back up at the top of the steps to his brother and new friend, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm sorry... I didn't think he would blow up like that when I told him."

"Just what exactly did you say?" (Name) asked as she and Matthew walked down the steps.

"I said that I apologized and that I didn't understand why you deserve all the hate that you're getting." Alfred explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just wish I knew what you did to set him off..."

(Name) looked down the sidewalk to watch Arthur's figure grow smaller and smaller as he gained more distance between them. "Believe me, so do I..."

~~~

He was livid. Absolutely. Livid.

Muttering curses as he walked home, he just couldn't believe that out of all the people who could have grown a conscience, it would be Alfred F. Jones. He didn't think that thick head could hold anything other than hot air.

She's taken everything. She's taken my spots at the top of our classes, she's taken my friends... He was so mad he couldn't even formulate his thoughts.

As angry as the Brit was, he didn't notice how fast he was walking because he made it home in record time. He twisted his key in the lock, pushed the door open, and slammed it shut. He heard a yell in response to the loud slam.

"Oi! Don't you be slamming that door! If you break it, the replacement fee is coming out of your allowance!" Yelled the oldest brother from the kitchen.

"Stuff it, Owen!" Shouted Arthur in reply as he stormed past the living room and kitchen to head to the stairs.

The tall brunette stepped out of the kitchen, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"I said: Stuff. It." Seethed the younger blond before turning back around and making his way up the steps, leaving his brother more confused than angry.

As he made it to the second floor, his younger brother poked his head out of his room. "What crawled up your butt and died?" Ian asked with a joking smirk on his lips.

"One more word and I'll shove my foot so far up your ass you won't be able to give any more of your smart-ass remarks!" Retorted Arthur as he made it to his room, slamming the door shut.

Dropping his bag on the floor with a thud, Arthur stepped to his bed, sitting down before plopping down on his back. His anger was slowly dissipating into self-loathing and self-pity. Getting angry at his brothers wouldn't do anything for his case, and it certainly wouldn't make things any better.

"Things just always come so easy to her... It isn't fair." He grumbled, rubbing his forehead. "...Why do I always have to be the one left behind?"

"Hey, (Name)!" Called the young child to his friend from the other side of the jungle gym as she sat at the bottom of one of the slides. He jumped down from his low perch before making his way over to his friend. He had noticed that she seemed kind of... Off since she got to the playground that day. Their brothers were off on one of the nearby benches talking things over, about what, he didn't really care, but he did wonder why his friend was being so weird.

When she didn't answer his call, Arthur walked over to his friend and looked down at her, watching her as she absent-mindedly kicked at the wood chips under her feet. "What's up with you? You've been really quiet ever since you got here..."

She didn't even look up as she muttered a quiet "Sorry."

Sighing, Arthur put his hands in his pockets as he frowned at his friend. "Jeez, talk about dumb."

"Huh?" (Name) asked meely, looking up at Arthur.

"You know, if it was Owen here, he'd say all this stuff about how you should be paying attention to the person you're spending time with. But you're just staring off into space!" Arthur frowned down at the girl who began to nervously pick at the skin of her thumb. "Talk about selfish."

"...S-Selfish?" She asked softly.

"Yeah. I didn't have to come to the park with you today. I could just leave whenever, you know?" He didn't even notice that she began to shake as she stood to her feet.

"N-No... P-Please don't leave!" She exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm and holding on tightly. "D-Don't leave! Don't leave, don't leave!!" She cried, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"H-Hey! Let go!" Arthur exclaimed, stepping back and trying to pry the girl's hands off his arm as she dropped to her knees.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I promise that I'll be good, I promise!!" She was screaming at this point, her short nails digging into his arm. "I'm so sorry!!" The look in the girl's eyes were blank, but terrified. She was staring right at Arthur, but she wasn't talking to him.

"(Name)!!"

Arthur turned at the sound of her older brother running towards them. The look on his face wasn't readable, but even a nine year-old could tell he was worried about his little sister. Allistor was right behind him, looking just as worried as his friend.

Louis skid to a stop next to (Name), a gentle hand going to her shoulder while the other went to her iron grip on Arthur's arm. "(Name), it's okay, we aren't home. We're at the park, remember?"

At the sound of Louis' voice, (Name) turned from Arthur to her brother, releasing the blond's arm and quicking burying her face in her older brother's shoulder as she hugged him tightly. "Lou!! Lou, I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!! Don't be mad, please don't be mad!!" She wailed.

The teen scooped his sister into his arms, holding her close before looking down at Arthur. "What did you say to her?" He asked. When Arthur didn't respond immediately, Louis raised his voice. "What did you say to my sister?!"

"N-Nothing!" Whimpered Arthur. "I-I didn't say anything!"

"That's crap!" Louis snapped, his gaze never leaving Arthur's. "She was fine five minutes ago until you came over to her!"

"Lou, you need to calm (Name) down." Allistor quickly said to his friend, moving in between Louis and his little brother. "C'ome on, the girl needs somewhere to calm down."

Without a verbal response, Louis nodded as he held his sister close, walking back to the bench where he had been sitting moments before.

"Alli... What happened to (Name)?" Arthur asked quietly, moving to stand next to his older brother.

Allistor let out a sigh, running a hair through his messy red locks. "Just, stay here, Artie. I'll be back in a little bit."

Watching his older brother join (Name) and Louis, Arthur could only stand and watch as his brother left for Louis and (Name), leaving the young boy by himself with the tiny cuts that came from (Name)'s nails.

Letting out a sigh, Arthur pushed up his sleeve to look at the little scars that he still had from that incident several years ago. After that, he was scared to see (Name) and her brother. Every time that Allistor asked if he wanted to go play at that park, Arthur answered with a cold "no." If there was ever the suggestion to invite (Name) or her brother over to the house, Arthur would vehemently refuse and protest.

After what happened on the playground, he never wanted to see (Name) again for fear that she would "attack" him again. That fear grew into resentment, and that resentment morphed into hatred. He lost his friend because of what happened that day, she was someone that he didn't recognize or wanted to know. To this day, he still couldn't forgive what happened that day.

Most of all, he couldn't forgive himself for causing it.