It was early morning-well before any classes would start. Norway and I were both prepared for our first class of the day-English-but we were both being casual about it, and decided to chat lightly as we meandered about the school building. It still was early, Norway and I being morning people, so the hallways were roomier than they were when the day progressed. The school almost seemed empty as we wandered around, hearing echoes in certain places where there were never any echoes when school had begun.
My bag was slung over my shoulder, holding all of the things I'd need for the day. Norway also had his backpack, though it was being held up with both straps. Again, Tino was on my mind. He had deliberately lied to me a few days ago, and I just couldn't get over it for whatever reason. Taking advantage of the opportunity in front of me, I decided to ask Norway about Tino. "Does T'no not like me'r sum'thin? He ds'n't  ev'r w'nt to talk with meh…"
"Oh," Norway replied. "Tino has a bit of difficulty adjusting to new people, don't worry." He reassured me with a calm expression. "He's also easily intimidated…and you're pretty tall…"
I nodded. So then it was just because of the way I looked, right? At least, that's what I came to believe now. Then something else had been bothering me, but if I asked Denmark I'd probably only get to hear half of what I wanted to hear. "Who's Iv'n?"
Norway glanced at me with wary eyes for a moment, "Did Denmark say anything?"
I nodded, "Ah little,"
"Ivan and Tino used to be friends, but then Ivan got a little too manipulative over him, and then Tino decided he didn't want to be friends with him anymore. Ivan still goes to this school, he's in our grade. I don't know if you have any classes with him…but you should probably stay away from him."
I nodded, still a little confused, but I guess I'd learn eventually. I was about to ask Norway something else, but after he had finished talking, I realized that we were standing outside of our English classroom. I gawked around for a moment as Norway already entered the room, and as I peered at the clock in the classroom, class was starting soon! I hadn't realized how much time had elapsed while we were talking.
I scurried into the classroom and found my seat.
Class was rather boring. Not much happened other than a review of things I already knew. Norway and I didn't talk the rest of class. Needless homework was shoveled onto us, and we all packed up as we were ready to leave class.
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For whatever reason, I arrived at our lunch table rather early. Only Tino and Norway were there. I could see even from a distance that Tino was doing most of the talking while Norway seemed like he wasn't paying much attention, and just picked at his food. I clenched the food tray a little tighter as I walked up to our table and sat down next to Tino, much to his surprise. I tried to act nonchalant about it, but it seemed that Tino wouldn't let me. I usually sat on the opposite side of the small table, next to Denmark. But Norway didn't make any real reaction in my choice, so then it seemed that Tino would be my only obstacle. That and Iceland. I guess I had stolen his seat…I hope he wouldn't mind too much.
"Berwald…" Tino whispered to me in a somewhat annoyed tone. "Why're you sitting on this side?"
He made it sound like what I had done was wrong. Even the first day we had lunch, a 'seating chart' had been subconsciously made. Norway sat next to Tino, who sat next to Iceland, and on the other side of the table it was me and Denmark. As long as I had been coming to this school, that exact seating arrangement had been followed. Until I decided to change it, that is.
"Can't ah sit nx'ta you?" I asked rather quietly, a little disheartened that I had upset him so much. I wasn't planning for it.
Tino's eyes dimmed a little and he averted his gaze from me. It almost felt as though I had just been stabbed, but before any severe damage was done, the blade had been ripped right out of me. He readjusted his thin frame and positioned himself so that his back was mostly turned to me, and he was focused on Norway. Norway was casually eating his food as he should be, and Tino picked at bits on his tray, talking whenever food wasn't in his mouth. I was being ignored again, wasn't I? Why did he treat me like this? I had done nothing to him, and he hated me.
"Oh hey, was there a whole lot of homework in your English class? I bet there was…it seems like that teacher really likes to assign homework. He must like torturing us." Tino continued eating his leafy salad without any dressing on it. Every couple of sentences he'd use a plastic fork to spear several leaves together, and then eat them.
"Yeah," Norway replied in an uncommitted tone, obviously uninterested when Tino got into one of his yammering moods.  Norway would occasionally take a bite out of his rye bread sandwich, but then stare at it for the longest while, almost as though he was expecting for something important to happen.
As I watched the two interact, I couldn't help but feel that I still wasn't a part of this circle of friends. I was sitting right next to Tino, yet here I was, still by myself. I must just be the type of person that attracts loneliness. In a less than bright mood as of yet, I was ready to open a bag of salted crackers, but was distracted.
"Svi?" Iceland blinked at me, holding his lunch tray with both hands. Svi was his nickname for me, although I don't really know why. It didn't sound negative, so I didn't disagree with it. Oh yes, I was in his seat, wasn't I?
"Oh, ah, s'rry," I muttered, "I jus' w'nted ta sit by T'no today…Th't alr'ght?"
Iceland glanced from me to Tino, who was still ignoring me, and nodded. "Sure," He said, and sat in the place where I would normally sit. By the time it took for Iceland to place his tray on the table and sit down, Denmark had showed up, and sat in his regular seat.
"Woah, what the hell's goin' on here?" He asked, glancing from me to Tino. Why did Tino have to cause a scene? If he could just calm down, then we'd probably be friends already.
"Jus' w'nted ta sit by T'no…" I said in a relatively somber tone, seeing as my attempt to take advantage of a situation had just backfired on me.
"Oh," Denmark said with a nod.
Tino was quiet now, but still wasn't facing me. He was eating now, trying to cram his mouth full so he wouldn't have to talk to me. I was picking at my food. I'll admit that I wasn't very hungry, nor was I in the mood to really eat anything, either. Norway was usually a quiet person, I had learned, unless he had something important to say, that is. Iceland could be place right on the line of being quiet or talkative. He could fit into either depending on his mood. Unlike Tino, he didn't seem particularly perturbed. This was very relieving. So it seemed I had gained everyone's friendship (though it wasn't much to look at) but Tino's.
As we were all thinking and eating, an uneasy silence settled among us. Almost as though a little grey cloud had set up camp above us. Denmark tried to whisk this cloud away as he smirked and said, "Hey, has anyone been to the track at all? I don't have gym this semester-which sucks tremendously-so I wanted to know if it was any good."
There was yet another pause as Denmark hadn't really indicated who he was talking to. His question was meant for anyone in the group, and as a group, everyone was waiting for someone else to say something. In the cycle of waiting, the silence was only prolonged by Denmark's question.
"I've be'n," I replied, glancing at him. "Ah hav'n't be'n 'n m'ny tracks be'for,'s ah dunno wh't's good 'r n't good…" I spoke like a tied up toddler trying to walk in a straight line. It was practically impossible. It was a good thing that these guys were pretty polite, actually; they never really needed me to repeat anything. They'd pause as they'd hear my words again in their head, and then think of something to say back to me.
"Is it spongy?" Denmark asked, sitting up straight in an alert manner.
"Mm," I hesitated. I still couldn't really tell what level of sponginess that Denmark was looking for, seeing as I had no previous tracks to compare it with, but for the sake of prolonging the conversation, I voiced, "Yah, Ah'd say it'd is."
"Haha!" He grinned widely, his powerful aura present now. "Good! I like it when a track is good and spongy. It's easier on your ankles when running, ya know!"
"I was the one who told you that, Denmark." Norway added, throwing away a wrapper into the small trashcan at the end of our table.
"And I'm telling to Berwald!" He said matter-of-factly.
Norway let out a small sigh as he and Denmark engaged in conversation, Iceland jumping in whenever he could. I still felt a little left out, but by this time Tino had turned around to face me. His violet eyes were big and reflective, like little purple mirrors. His eyebrows were furrowed, though, so there wasn't time to be looking at his eyes.
"Why're you sitting here?" He asked me again in a frustrated whisper.
"I w'nt to be fr'nds with ya," I replied honestly, our conversation's volume was nearly nonexistent compared to the one that Denmark and Norway were having.
Tino exhaled rather quickly, and looked down for a moment, then back up at me. I saw a quiver of fear in his big mirroring eyes. Why did he seem so against just being friends? I wasn't forcing him to do anything… "Really?" He said in a calmer tone.
I nodded slowly, to seem not too eager. "Yes," I replied softly.
Now Tino seemed a little restless. He had finished his lunch and did us all a favor by collecting our empty lunch trays, and when he returned to his seat his eyes were fixated on the clock at the back of the large cafeteria. We were near a wall, so looking at it wasn't too strenuous on the eyes. He wasn't saying much now, but he was fidgeting. He'd quietly drum his fingers or sway a little in his seat. What strange behavior.
"Is'ser sum'thin' wrong, T'no?" I asked him, leaning in a little closer so we were more level. I really was quite a lot taller than he was, and quite big too compared to him. He seemed so small and fragile. He'd be easy to carry, I'd imagine. He had thin little shoulders and pale skin, not to mention a delicately curved face and a thin body. I was thin too, but I had a great deal more muscle than he did.
Tino looked up at me again, cheeks flushing a darker hue. He shook his head quickly, "N-no…nothing wrong. I just want to get to my next class, is all."
I blinked, and straightened my spine again. Was he lying to me again, just so he could avoid giving me the real answer? He might have been, but I didn't want to start our new friendship with the assumption that everything he told me was a lie.

When lunch was over, Tino quickly scampered off to his next class, leaving the rest of us in the dust. What was it that was so urgent? I wondered if I was the only one kept out of the loop.
I started to take my own path, and Norway seemed to be going in the same direction. "You know," He started, wearing a hint of a smirk on his face. "Tino really only acts like that around you, Berwald. I've got him in a few other classes, and he works with most other people just fine…I guess you're just getting some sort of selective treatment or something."
Norway didn't even give me enough time to reply before he had walked off into another direction. I felt that I was just left there with that idea to mull over for the next few class periods. Special treatment? It didn't seem like it. Though I seemed to be making some progress. I didn't have any verbal proof as of yet, but it seemed like Tino and I were friends now. Or at least on neutral terms of calling each other 'friend'.
But after lunch, Tino was in my next class. Perhaps I could talk to him there. After all, we were friends now.
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Derp. Why do I seem to make Tino sound so Tsundere? :C I fail. Oh well, it'll get better in later chapters, I swear! xD Sorry I'm just dragging this out. No not really, but I hate it when I read romance fics or whatever and then BAM! They're in love. :I That does not amuse me. So I'm trying to make it realistic, 'cause it never works like BAM! Unless you're a hoe. The end. Love you all who read and review, and thanks for the ideas/suggestions!! n 3 n
Edit:: OTL Oh my lord. I was writing this after midnight, so sorry about the comment involving Belarus and Ukraine. Please forgive my sleepiness.