"Get up, Tino," A somewhat monotone voice called to me, and I opened my eyes.
"N-Norway?" I squeaked, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands, and sat up.
"Your alarm didn't go off this morning; I think the battery must have died or something…We've got school today, so you need to get up."
"Oh, okay," I muttered compliantly and heaved myself out of my bed. I had to blink my eyes a few more times before I was adjusted to the bright light in our room. What was Norway doing with all of the curtains pulled back? Maybe he's just trying to let in some light…Pretty bright though, I thought to myself, letting out a morning yawn. I stretched a bit, rolling my shoulders around comfortably as I woke myself up from my dazed stupor.
"I already got your cereal ready," Norway said as he plunged a full spoon into his mouth. He had walked over to our table as I was stretching a moment ago. "Ah jus wet ya fweep in a widdle bit." He chewed, and then swallowed his food, making it much easier to understand him.
"Oh? Thank you, Norway…" I said quietly, wandering over to the small table we would sit at in the mornings, and occasionally at night. I sat down, heaving a small sigh as I picked up my shiny, metallic spoon and started to chew the cereal that Norway had prepared for me. It wasn't much, but it was very nice of him to do for me.
As I continued eating, I noticed Norway was just stirring his spoon around in the bowl of milk, looking rather contemplative. He looked up at me-I wasn't really expecting him to. "Has Ivan been bothering you lately?"
I nearly choked on the sharp bits of a corn flake as it went down my esophagus. Ivan!? Why was everyone always bringing him up? "N-no," I coughed slightly, forcing a smile. "I haven't had any problems with him, recently. In fact, I haven't talked to him in weeks!"
"Oh," Was Norway's answer, "Good." His eyes flickered a little, and he continued to look at me strangely, "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yes," I nodded, "I feel fine. Why?"
"Just wondering," Norway muttered under his breath, averting his eyes and looked out the window. I saw him wince a little as he looked directly into the sun.  "It seems that something is bothering you, but I can't seem to pinpoint what it really is…"
"N-no," I smiled, shaking my head lightly, "I feel fine…Nothing's been worrying me at all, really…"
"Is it Berwald?" He asked me, this time looking directly at me. His steel-colored eyes were sharp and firm, they looked this way whenever he was suspicious of something-I remembered the look.
Berwald? I asked myself. Is he bothering me? What? What was he…?
"You don't really seem to want to be friends with him…Is that bothering you?"
I felt myself panic a little, but I didn't really know why. "Norway!" I smiled and let out a nervous laugh. "He's…he's kind of scary, don't you think? He never smiles!"
"Smiling doesn't have to do with anything…" Norway said in a somewhat offended tone.
Oh…right… Norway hardly smiles either!
"Why do you think he's scary?" Norway questioned, his voice growing a little fainter.
"I don't really…know," I fidgeted in my seat, my fingers recoiling from the cold spoon. "He just…I guess he does bother me a little…He hardly says anything! I mean…being quiet isn't bad," I said nervously, trying to make up for almost insulting Norway again, "But he's not like you. He hardly talks at all! And even when he does, it's almost impossible to understand him!"
"I can understand him just fine, Tino…" Norway said defensively, continuing to stir the milk around in his bowl with his spoon.
I pulled away, removing my hands from the surface of the table. What was Norway trying to get at? I guess I'd sort of consider myself friends with Berwald, but he was pretty scary after all… He's so much taller and bigger than I am…
"Tino," Norway said softly, getting my attention.
I span around reflexively, blinking a few times in anticipation.
"Berwald is in love with you, Tino."
"Huh!?" I let out a little too loudly, almost wanting to fall back in my chair. "What!?" I cried out loud. "But I…But he…and then…why does…he's too…since when?
Norway shrugged, "I don't know. But he told Denmark and I a few days ago. He's really shy, though…So that's why he's been really nervous lately. He's pretty nice; I don't really know why you're scared of him. Even Iceland trusts him."
"Yes well, Icelan-"
"Tino," Norway interrupted me, his voice low and unyielding. "What are you going to do about it? He seems like the type to get really upset if he's heartbroken…"
I averted my gaze, trying to focus on something other than the scenarios that were springing up all over in my brain. He…He loved me? I remembered the smile he showed me a few days prior when I said it was okay for us to call each other friends. It didn't really look like much-it was just a regular smile. I imagined him holding one of my hands tightly, and calling my name in the weird way he always did-"T'no,"
But the fleeting day dream was swept away like a gust of wind, leaving me with the regular representation of Berwald-tall, strong, blond, near-sighted, and serious. That loved me? What should I say? At this point, I was perfectly content with being single. But then he showed up as a new student along with a few other hundred kids, and had to fall in love with me. Why me? Why was I special? What did he find attractive about me? And then I thought, well, he likes me. I wondered if he was the type to take all mistakes along with good points, or the type to just ignore the mistakes. I couldn't really tell as of yet.
"I don't…know…" I muttered, still a little dizzy from all of this new information and all of the possibilities that came with them.
"Why don't you go out with him?" Norway suggested casually, dumping out the milk that was still in his bowl into the sink. I almost wanted to scold him for wasting perfectly good milk, but he probably wouldn't have said anything back. "It's not like it'll be a big surprise to anyone…" He muttered under his breath, but I still heard him.
"What do you mean by that?" I said in an affronted tone.
"He was kind of obvious about it…Whenever he mentioned 'friendship', if you were a part of the conversation it could have been easily connected to 'love'. But I guess since he's a pretty shy guy, it was difficult for him to communicate or something…But then again you seem a little oblivious to things like that…Even Denmark caught on!"
"Well," I said in a somewhat angry tone, "I'm sorry I'm pretty oblivious, but I wasn't expecting that!"
"Alright, alright," Norway said exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. "No need to get all defensive or anything…" He walked over to where the bed were sectioned off and started to take out his school uniform. He was looking focused today, as he usually did, and quickly removed his pajamas and donned his school uniform.
I was left to tend to my empty cereal dish and put it in the sink, turning around to note he was putting on his tie. "What about you and Denmark?" I asked, changing the subject.
"What about Denmark and I?" He asked, sounding not too pleased at the direction of the new conversation. He didn't even look at me while he finished tightening his tie.
"Doesn't he like you or something…?"
Norway let out a sigh through his teeth as he finished with his tie. "I imagine so, but I really don't care. I've told him 'no' countless times, but he's too thick to care. Berwald is very different from Denmark. I think it'd be smart to at least talk to him about it, even if you don't agree."
"Mmm," I muttered, looking down at me feet. True, our situations were very different. While Denmark had confessed to Norway about his feelings for him, Norway wasn't interested, and didn't want to think of them as anything more than 'friends'. On occasion, he was even against that! Yet Denmark still hadn't given up. I wondered how Berwald would act if I told him that I didn't want to go out with him. As Norway had put it, Berwald did look like the type to be heartbroken easily. He was so shy too…And rather quiet… I felt guilty about even imagining something like that.
"Tino, stop dawdling," Norway said, breaking me from my guilty imagination. "We've got to go school."
---
There was this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach when math class was to start. I almost felt like I wanted to throw up; I was so nervous. Why was I this nervous, though? There wasn't really a reason for me to be so tense.
Berwald sat next to me in math class like he always did. He'd keep to himself, working on the problems he was supposed to, and would pay attention in class. He was actually good at paying attention, and did better in math class than I did. Numbers were never really my strong spot. It was just too confusing for me, really.
I heaved out a sigh after our class was done taking notes, and he peered at me for a moment. "Ya, okay?" His voice was still low and quiet, like always. He seemed calmer than I was. His eyes were…a sort of greenish color. I hadn't really noticed before. I thought his eyes were sort of blue, but I guess I didn't notice because his glasses were sort of in the way.
"Uh," I smiled, trying to not seem as flustered as I was feeling at this very moment, "I'm, uh…j-just fine! I just feel a little nervous…" I looked away, "And a little sick…"
"D'ya w'nt me t' tell tha' tee'cher if ah c'n take ya t' tha' health office?" He leaned in a little closer to me, most likely trying to examine my face to see if I really looked sick, but that made me even more nervous. I pulled back, feeling my stomach tighten and my face started burning around my cheeks. I was blushing, wasn't I? But I couldn't really see myself, so I just had to rely on gut instinct…
"Uhm," I mustered, "N-no, you don't have to…I'm…I'm fine-really! I think school has been taking a lot out of me…you know?" Maybe he'd believe that excuse. It'd be easier to talk to him in the hallways where it was so noisy that no one paid attention to conversations, but Berwald and I were in whispers now. Of course, there was chitchat amongst other students, but you had to keep your voice low in class if you didn't want anyone to over hear you.
"Mmm," Berwald nodded, pulling back a little, looking down at his hands. I wondered if I said something bad…

----
The rest of math class was rather boring. We had homework yet again. We all were let out of the classroom when the bell rang, and Berwald and I left around the same time. We did sit next to each other, after all, and our next class would be with each other. So it'd only make sense that we'd sort of walk together.
I really wanted to talk to him, but I didn't really know what to say, or even what to talk about! I still felt nervous, and a little nauseous, though not as much now. I was still holding my backpack, and he was holding his as well, but for some reason, his didn't look as heavy as mine. We walked in the hallways, passing by other people and wedging ourselves between crowds. Neither of us said anything for quite some time, and the silence was killing me!
"Uhm, Berwald?" I tried to get his attention, walking a little closer to him.
He turned around to look at me, slowing his rather quick pace.
"I'm sorry if I seemed a little…avoidant of you or something…I'm sorry…" I was getting embarrassed and fidgety now, I knew it.
"'S fine," He said calmly, smiling a little.
"Uhm…" I paused again, taking a deep breath before I'd say anything. "N-Norway said that…he said that you like me…" I looked up at him, "Is that…true?"
I saw Berwald's pupils contract slightly, and there was a faint red hue around his cheekbones. He nodded, "He's r'ght…"
So…So then it was true? Well, I solved one mystery, but there were thousands of others to learn about. Why me? I didn't really know if I was ready for a relationship or anything. I had known Berwald for a month or two now, but it still seemed like I hardly knew the guy. He never really talked about himself, so it was hard to learn about him-for me, at least.
"You…you do like me?" I asked, my eyes widening a little. Why was I acting surprised when I already knew this morning? Maybe I was just caught up in the moment, or something.
"Yes," Berwald said quietly, his cheeks blushing a little brighter, and he looked away.
"How much?" I asked, feeling a little guilty again after saying it. I had forced his 'secret' out of him, and then now I was interrogating him. Oh, I felt horrible! But…but I wanted to be sure. I didn't want to make any wrong moves. Wrong decisions would always lead to bad memories, and I've had quite a few. If I was going to like him back, I wanted to be sure that he really liked me, and wasn't just infatuated with me. Infatuation never lasts.
Berwald was quiet for a moment as we still walked to our classroom. I saw him exhale, and then take a deep breath, and he looked at me with a determined expression. "W'll ya let me hold ya h'nd?"
"H-hold my hand?" I mimicked him.
He nodded, still looking quite serious.
Well, at least he was asking. And at least it wasn't for a kiss. But then again, he didn't seem to be that type of guy.
"Sure…I guess…" I said in a somewhat hesitant voice. I let my right hand hang down by my side, limp and relaxed. We continued walking rather slowly as I watched his left hand unfurl and grasp mine tightly. It wasn't too tight, but it wasn't loose either. His hand was warm, and his skin wasn't rough (which was a relief). His palms weren't sweaty, either! I was a little surprised about that. I wondered what my hand felt like to him. His hands were so much bigger than mine, I noticed. Our fingers were interlaced, and in this silence, an even greater wave of awkwardness arose.
Should either one of us say anything? I'd probably ruin the moment if I tried to change the subject or say anything at all, really. I tried relaxing a little, exhaling subtly. His hand was still gently clamped around mine. I almost wanted to pull away a little, but I didn't want to hurt him. He liked me this much? Enough to ask if he could hold my hand? He also didn't seem to mind that it wasn't in secret. I saw some of the other students eye us and our linked hands as we continued walking to our next class.
"Look! What a bunch of homos!" I heard someone say. I had no idea who it was, but already, I was angry!
"Pffsht, fags…" I heard another in a sarcastic tone.
Was Berwald not even paying attention!? Or was he ignoring them? Either way, those comments were really bugging me!
"Berwald," I said, turning to him, and he turned to look at me. "You don't mind that I'm not a girl, do you? Does that…bother you?"
He shook his head, "Doesn't matt'r," He said rather softly, "I still like ya, T'no. Wouldn't matt'r if ya were a boy or'a g'rl." I saw the corners of his mouth turn upwards for a moment, looking like a fleeting smile. His sea green eyes softened a little, and he held my hand a little tighter.
"It doesn't…matter to you?" I asked for verification.
He shook his head slowly, "N't one bit."
I smiled a little in response. Maybe my opinion of Berwald was all wrong. Norway was right, he was pretty nice. Maybe a relationship with him would be good for me like Norway had suggested. I still had time to mull it over in our next class.
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Sorry for changing POVs on you guys! xD I just had a feeling that we needed to hear Tino's opinion on the whole thing. Sorry if Tino's head was a little boring. OTL I try to make a few differences in style when changing POVs in a 1st person story, but sorry if it wasn't very interesting. Most of the story will be told in Berwald's POV, fyi, so don't worry! = 7 = Thank you for reading and reviewing and I'll try to get more out since it's NaNoWriMo or something… Give me opinions and suggestions! Thanks!!