[Fanfic] And All That Jazz 2/?

[hoshiko2]

Title: And All That Jazz
Pairings: Alfred (US)/ Arthur (UK)
Characters: America, England, with special appearances by Japan and Austria
Rating: T for language. (Will go up higher)
Warnings: America has a bit of a sailor's mouth
Summary: Alfred is approached by the Student Body President, Arthur, for help on his math exam. They hate each other, but maybe opposite can attract with the help of something unexpected.
This chapter: What could be worse than a kiss on the cheek?


I didn't sleep well that night. I was terrified that my last tutoring session with Alfred would proceed into something more. Or even worse. That Alfred would use my sexuality against me. Still, I had to admit, it was really all that dumb kiss' fault. I kept rolling around in bed that night, remembering how Alfred had gotten so close without me even noticing. How warm his lips felt. How much my heart was pounding and that was the real reason I was unable to sleep.

Stop, I told myself. You're thinking far too much on this situation. It was just a kiss. A harmless kiss. Alfred wasn't even bisexual.

No, Alfred was far from that. While I never normally went to American football games, there were times I would go out of morbid curiosity. I planned to go to joke about it with my Portuguese friend and how it couldn't stand up to the real football of the world. However, I realized how Alfred was a nice art form to admire. Such a neatly formed body that he loved to show off in front of the cheerleaders or his fans. There was no way he'd look at a guy like me.

And yet, he had kissed my cheek.

"AH!" I shouted as I slammed the pillow on my face. "Just go to bed you idiot!"

When the bell rang for lunch, I quickly rushed to the table Kiku and I would sit at. I didn't even glance at Alfred's table. If we made eye contact, it might give him the idea that he could come over and sit with me. I had to remain calm. This wasn't like me. I was getting far too riled up for no reason. Lunch was going smoothly; there were no calls of my name from across the cafeteria or anyone approaching to upset my relaxation time.

I sighed as Kiku finally took a seat next to me. "Alfred told me yesterday went over well."

I coughed quickly to hide the sudden surprise that jumped into my heart. I smiled over at Kiku nervously. "O-oh? He did, did he? Well, that's wonderful to hear. Yes, I thought it was quite nice as well. Did…did he mention anything else to you?"

Kiku shook his head. His lunch that he had always prepared was already finished. "No, not really. He mentioned you're going to tutor him in English. He joked that you might start making him using random U's in the wrong places."

"Random U's?" I yelped. "How dare he? They are not random!"

Kiku laughed into his hand. "Alfred figured you'd say something like that. He said you haven't changed since you two were in middle school."

My face felt hot again. I had almost forgotten that we had met so long ago, but it wasn't until I became Student Body President that I paid him more attention. It was around the same time that he started dressing so inappropriately as if to upset me on purpose. He was never as bad when I was only the Vice President the year prior. However, Kiku had once spoken about Alfred being upset with his home life and acted out at school sometimes, but he never mentioned it again.

But I wasn't thinking of such times. Rather, I was awfully bothered that Alfred was already guessing my reactions. I stood up, marched over to Alfred's table, and slammed my hands before him. There would be no way he would ignore me with the loud music today.

Alfred looked up in surprise again. He took off his headphones quickly and flashed me a smile. It only managed to make me narrow my eyes. "What's up?"

"What is this?" I started.

"Lunch time?" Alfred's smile grew impossibly wider suddenly. "Or did you expect me to say Sparta?"

I seethed at him. "Enough with your prattle! Where do you get off figuring how I would react? We hang out for one day and you think you can start acting like my friend?"

Alfred raised an eyebrow at me. He probably thought I was being ridiculous. I thought so too. I had no idea why I was so upset over such a trivial matter. I blamed that blasted kiss from the previous day. For that, I kept looking at the blonde's lips, only to snap my eyes away.

"For the record, I've been 'figuring' how you'd react for a few months now." Alfred shrugged as he stood up, preparing for the bell to ring in a moment. "Last I checked, this is a free country, so I can do that. Also, I didn't say anything about being friends or our tutoring session being a 'hang out' time."

I could feel all of my embarrassment rushing to my face and pure humiliation settling in my gut. He was right, I knew he was as I stomped over like a child. Still, I lashed out like so. I continued to glare at Alfred, though, until he smiled again. This time it looked more devious.

"…Unless you want to be friends and actually hang out some time," he said merrily.

I scoffed, turning away. "Don't be silly. We will continue these lessons until Kiku is available to help and that is all. I do have a reputation to uphold."

The bell rang and the other students got up to head off to class. Alfred had been silent and, for a moment, I feared he had just walked away as well. I couldn't blame him. I had been unreasonably rude.

I chanced a glance over to see him still standing across the table from me. However, his usual cocky grin had changed to a rather sad grimace. "Oh, yeah… Ok. Right. That was the agreement. Right, well, see you after school then."

Watching Alfred leave, I felt a weight drop on my shoulders. I had gone and upset the boy without needing to. But it was his fault. If he hadn't kissed my cheek yesterday I would've gotten more sleep and been in more control of my emotions. But even as I headed to class and took down notes, I couldn't help but think of that sad expression on his face. He wasn't frazzled when I had yelled at him. No, he just laughed it off and tried to make it a joke. Surprisingly I had felt my anger die down and had just become more upset with myself for my immature behavior. So then why did he look so downcast?

The bell rang suddenly and I was snapped out of my reserve. I looked around to see the other students leaving, excited to go home. I imagined they didn't feel so guilty, nor did they have trouble giving an apology.

I walked to the Student Body office to wait for Alfred. I figured he would be a little late again so I took the long way around. I smiled faintly as I neared the music room. It had been two years since I had last gone in to take a class, but the memories were always wonderful. My peer, Roderich, had first suggested I play a year of piano after I mentioned that I used to play when I was a child. It wasn't anything special. My mother had recorded me at Christmas parties or grade school performances. I thought it was more like I was just randomly hitting keys with a bright child's smile on my face, but Roderich's pressure had led me to pursue just a year.

How I wish I could have continued playing. I never performed in public despite Roderich's pleas that I do just once. While I had received so many compliments from my peers and the teacher, I was never comfortable with the idea. It was a time I could let down my guard and not think about the world. There were no rules, no responsibilities, and no expectations. I was just a seventeen year old boy playing music.

I neared the music room and stopped when I heard a saxophone echoing down the hallway. I assumed that the class was running a little longer than normal, but couldn't help my curiosity. The musician was playing a lovely smooth jazz piece that made me sway on the spot. If only there was a light tap of the drum to back it up and an accompanying piano, the melody would have been complete.

As soon as I started to get into the music, it stopped. I opened my eyes unaware that I was standing by the door lost in a haze. I wanted to get a peak at who had just been playing, but seeing as how I had stage fright myself, I didn't want to impose in case they too were a bit shy.

Just as I prepared to sneak off and get to the office, the door opened next to me. I jumped aside before it could hit me. Looking up to see who had come out, I stopped short.

"A-Alfred?" My eyes were probably bugging out as I pointed at the taller blonde.

The boy stumbled back in surprise. His face was red as he looked at his feet, scratching the back of his head. "Oh! Arthur! Shit, am I late again? Look, you didn't have to come looking for me. I was just finishing up and then I'd be over."

"Was that…you?" I stole a look over his shoulder. There was no one else in the room. He had to have been the last one in there. "Did you play that heavenly song?'

Alfred looked at me, his blue eyes watching me hesitantly over the rim of his glasses. "You think I'm good…?"

"Yes!" I blurted out. "That was beautiful. I had no idea you played the saxophone."

"Yup. Been doing so since I was a kid. Mom wanted me and my bro to play some sort of musical instrument. He was gifted with the fiddle and I got stuck with the saxophone."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing." I couldn't understand why. He was immaculate in his ability.

Alfred looked out the window, his eyes sad again and a grimace back on his face. I was really starting to dislike that expression on him. "Well, that's what my dad says. He doesn't like that I can play it, especially since I like it. I only play at school and I've never performed since I was little. My dad wouldn't like that very much."

"I see…" We were quiet for a moment. I felt awkward, but at the same time, slightly happy. Alfred had honestly just shared a personal story with me whereas the week before we would never have exchanged such an intimate piece. "Shall we get going?"

"Oh right," Alfred said all too quickly. He looked relieved as he gave me another smile. "It's tutoring time!"

The two of us began to walk down the hall together. "That's right, but I'm the one tutoring you."

"Aw, for reals?" Alfred groaned.

"Alfred," I started. "That is not proper English."

"Hey, it's not time to start yet. Give me my last few moments, Grammar Nazi." Alfred laughed at my reaction to such a horrendous nickname. He then put his arm around me. My heart almost skipped a beat, or maybe it just stopped all together. "Still so tense. I thought yesterday would loosen you up a bit."

"Would you stop that?" I pushed away from Alfred, keeping him at arm's length. My face was so warm that I'm sure I was glowing as if I were sick. My eyes skittered to and fro, unable to settle on anything in the hallway. "We are in public."

Alfred sighed, his lower lip sticking out in annoyance. "Right, right. Your reputation. I forgot about that. Sorry, sir."

I straightened my clothes as we entered the office. Once tutoring began there was no more talk of yesterday or anything further. However, it wasn't long before I realized that Alfred was perfectly fine with English, save for his vocabulary skills. It was more like he just chose to ignore the rules. Always ignoring the rules. I wondered what made him do so.

"Alfred," I started, sitting back in my chair. "You know, you're awfully good at this. Why is it then that your text scores are so low?"

The boy shrugged. "I just don't really care. I don't study that much for this subject."

"But why? You don't study for anything unless it interests you, do you?"

Again, a shrug. "Well what's the point? If I don't like it then I don't like it. I have a lot more important things to do during the day than spend my time reading up about Shakespeare or a foreign language or even history when they mean nothing to me. I'd rather focus on math and science. You know, shit that'll be relevant to my future?"

I sighed, slightly frustrated. Alfred was obviously very gifted, but he wasn't using his talent to the best of his abilities. Kiku had mentioned that Alfred was still very good at languages and history, and yet the boy had just stated how they didn't interest him. He wasn't even trying and yet he was still good.

"I just don't understand you." Alfred looked up at me, confused. "You have so much talent and yet you don't use it. Why? You could be so much more."

Alfred stared at me seriously. "So much more than what…?" he slowly asked.

"Than…this!" I pointed to Alfred.

The boy's expression remained the same. "You just pointed to all of me."

"Yes, well, you dress rather crudely and your grammar is as atrocious as your motivation, or lack thereof. I just can't understand." I ran my hands through my hair, starting to get upset. "So many people would love to be as gifted as you. You're not even trying and yet you're passing everything you touch, save for English. But even there, you're perfectly fine and yet you just choose to ignore it? Why? I don't understand."

"And I don't understand you." Alfred leaned forward, poking me on the nose. "What does all of this mean in the long run? Really. I mean, when you graduate, will you automatically become the Student Body President at college or do you think it'll have an effect on your life?"

"Yes," I said sternly, straightening my back. "It has already made me a well organized and responsible teenager, ready to face the real world and become an adult."

Alfred started laughing, shaking his head. "But you never said what they'll have on your life. After all of this, did it make you see what you want to do once you get to that outside world?"

My shoulders dropped slightly as realization sunk in. He was right. I had no idea what it was I wanted to do once I graduated. Still, my pride refused to let me back down. "Th-that will come to me once I reach college. Besides, it's none of your business!"

Alfred smirked and stood up. "Then it's none of yours what I do with my life. After all, we're not friends now are we?"

Lunch time's conversation hit me hard. I had come with the intention of apologizing to Alfred for my behavior and yet I had acted so harshly again. Alfred glanced at the clock on the wall and then back to me. He quickly dropped his gaze to the floor, though, and I felt worse.

"I'm going to go. You said I'm good at English so there's no need to tutor me, right?" I could only nod numbly. I dared not speak again. "All right, well, I'm sure you have a lot of…important matters to deal with so I'll see you later."

Again, he left me speechless. And yet, despite my agonizing all day over the kiss, I would much rather have preferred that than to how I felt right now and how I would feel all night long.

The next few days went without incident. We never spoke outside of what Alfred was tutoring me in aside from meaningless banter and small chit-chat. And yet, oddly enough, I enjoyed our time together more and more every day. After hearing Alfred's wonderful work on the saxophone, I continued to casually walk by the music room, hoping to catch another glimpse of his talent. Sadly, I didn't get that lucky. I think he had caught on after my first time and had avoided practicing after class.

On Friday, my class had gotten out early and I found myself with some spare time on my hand before my meeting with Alfred. I headed towards the music room, wondering if now would be the best time to catch Alfred in the act, but there was no one in the room. My eyes then laid on the piano.

Perhaps a few moments couldn't hurt.

I sneaked inside, hoping to be alone for a few moments when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. For a moment, I thought it was Alfred. I jumped, startled.

"Oh! Arthur! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." My friend, Roderich, was just standing from another piano in the far corner. His impeccably crisp uniform rivaled mine for its perfection. While he exuberated refinement like that of nobility long past, there was always one long brown curl of his that stuck out from his hair. It was just as frustrating to look at as Alfred's own cowlick was.

I sighed in relief. "Oh, Roderich, no it's quite all right. I hope I'm not intruding."

"Intruding?" Roderich asked. "Not at all. You are a musician and are allowed here. You once played so beautifully. Are you thinking of practicing for a little bit?"

I rubbed my arm nervously. "The thought has crossed my mind."

"Then by all means." Roderich waved his hand over to the pianos with a gentle smile to match his soft voice. "I'll leave you be."

I thanked him as he left, but now I was alone in the room and suddenly wished he was back, if only for some company. Now it would seem foolish if I didn't play the piano after inadvertently kicking the man from the room. Still, at least no one was here to hear me play.

I took a seat at the black grand piano that faced me. The music instructor was only allowed to play or Roderich was allowed to play during break. A few memories came back to me and made me smile fondly. Automatically, I could feel my fingers spreading over the keys and, with a sigh, I pressed down onto them. Hearing the first few notes, I let myself go.

The piano always had that affect on me. I could sink into the music, forgetting who I was. If I could get past my stage fright and jump right to when my entire being connected with the music, then I suppose I could perform. Somehow, my mind wandered back to Alfred and how his father looks down on his musical abilities. My tune changed to a minor key to give it that sad sound. I could feel my face turning down to match the mood I had created.

How could a parent not encourage their child in their talent? Alfred certainly enjoyed himself and that was all that mattered. I knew my parents would come to any performance I participated in, but if Alfred put on one, would his parents come? I would make sure to be there for him, if only to be his sole supporter.

I sighed, smiling slightly. Would he like that? While we got along just fine these days I had the hunch he only put up with me as of late because of my agreement to not write him up as much anymore. I worried that once Kiku came back we'd never see each other again. My fingers slipped on the keys and I stopped instantly with a gasp.

My eyes popped open as realization struck me. What was I thinking? Alfred wasn't a friend. Before this week he wasn't anything more than an annoyance. So how had he suddenly become something much more? Did I want to see him afterwards?

"Wow."

I jumped in my seat, turning to look at who had invaded my sanctuary. And there he stood, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. I thought at first he had come to tease me, but Alfred actually looked genuinely amazed at what he had heard. Quickly, I looked at my hands, feet, the piano, the clock, anywhere but Alfred's gaze.

"You can play?" he asked. I almost gave a sarcastic reply, but I bit my tongue and thought better of it. "Dude, that was amazing… You sounded like a pro!"

Slowly, I looked at him with my head bent low. I could see his bright smile through my bangs. "You…you really think so…?"

"Hell yeah!" Alfred came close to me automatically making me shift away. He took a seat next to me. "Have you performed?"

"N-no…," I mumbled. "I…I have stage fright…"

"Really? Aw man, but you have such talent! Now who's the one who's not even trying?" Alfred poked me in the cheek.

I batted his hand away, my face flushing. "It's not that I'm not trying! It's…it's just…"

Alfred leaned in close. I could feel his shoulder touching mine. "You're making up excuses, you know?"

"Oh belt up!" I turned to him, shoving him lightly. "What about you? Aren't you the little rebel? If you enjoy the saxophone so much why don't you just play and tell your father to fuck off?"

Alfred stared at me for a few moments. Perhaps I had crossed the line. I began to fidget. Slowly a smile broke out on the boy's face. Such an endearing expression, it made me warm and happy like I've never known. I don't think I've seen him smile like that before at any of his adoring fans or gaggling girls. It looked so true.

"Yeah. You're right! Hey, why don't you play with me?" My jaw dropped, but Alfred pressed on. "Yeah, we could be in a band! A jazz band! My brother could play the cello or something, ya know?"

"Hold on a moment, Alfred." I held up my hand. "You forget I'm allergic to the stage."

Laughing, Alfred hugged me around the shoulder with one hand. I felt my heart race as I was pulled closer to him. "Don't worry! We'll work on that! You're a natural. Your kind of talent needs to be heard."

I looked down, but couldn't hide the small smile tugging on my lips. I had received so many compliments from peers and teachers and my own family, but Alfred's meant the most to me. I had the confidence enough to nod at his suggestion.

He punched his fists into the air. "YEAH! Well since you're just fine on math and all, why don't we practice instead?"

"You think I'm okay for my test Wednesday?" I asked, fixing my clothes as a distraction to not look at the excited boy. He was becoming far too cute. And contagious. I could feel his happiness radiating around the entire room.

"You sure are." He gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. I looked at him. "You'll be fine."

"Thank you," I said sincerely. "For all the help."

"Not a problem. I mean, we're friends now, right?" I could feel my face heat up as I stared at his blue eyes, so deep and pure. He really meant it. That means he wants to see me too. I wasn't alone in my thoughts.

With a sigh, I nodded. I gave a small smile and hoped that this was my own secretive smile that no one else but Alfred saw. It must have worked because Alfred crushed me in a tight hug. He laughed against me and, again, he was quite contagious. I could feel myself laughing too. When he pulled away, he kissed me on the forehead. I gasped and stared at him in shock. He gave a meek grin and kissed me on the cheek.

This time, I closed my eyes. I'm not sure why. Just the feel of his lips on my skin sent shivers down my arms. He must have felt them because his hands caressed my arms ever so lightly. I thought, for a moment, that I had imagined it. He pulled away again and I opened my eyes halfway. He was staring at me with an unreadable expression. What did he think of me just then?

Then, he leaned forward and took my lips with his. My eyes shot open in surprise, unable to just slip back into the comfortable feeling from before. No, now my entire world had shifted. And in a bad way.

The kiss didn't last for long. When Alfred pulled away, I stared at him, confused. "…Alfred…"

"Yes?" He didn't seem too put off by his actions. There was a dusting of light blush over the ridge of his nose as he stared at me. For some reason, his eyes looked so clear just then.

I mentally shook my head, trying to stay focused. "You just said…we were friends… I was under the impression…kissing your friends…was purely a European thing…"

"Oh uh, well…" Alfred looked away nervously with the blush spreading to his cheeks. "I just… You know… I felt like it… That's all. You're kind of…cute sometimes and, well… I was just happy… and."

The bell rang suddenly, forcing us to break apart. I wasn't sure if I should've felt relieved or upset by that. Alfred moved to get up leaving me even more confused than before. But I said and did nothing as he mumbled a good-bye and left. In truth, I was very upset with him for just kissing me like that and leaving without a proper explanation, but I had no one to blame but myself. Again, I let him leave without mustering up enough courage to even ask what his true intentions were. A kiss on the cheek was one thing and I was only tortured by it for one evening. Now it was officially the weekend.

I truly had the worst luck.

Hoshiko2's cents: "America will be remembered for three things: the Constitution, baseball, and jazz." I heard that from some documentary on baseball awhile back and thought, that'd be a great way to bring the two together. America invented jazz (technically) and England's bringing it back.

Wow, I was blown away by all the reviews from chapter one. Seriously, thank you to every single one of you. It means so much to me. From all of that, I wrote chapter 2 within a few hours, but because of finals I couldn't upload it until now. But finals are over and I'm on break for a month now!
Originally this series was to be only 3 chapters long with an epilogue, but with such a response I'm thinking of continuing it afterwords.

Anyways, quote from How to Train Your Dragon because I love that movie. If you happen to have any questions about my writing, feel free to drop by my Formspring.

Thanks for reading his week and I hope you'll continue on to next week. As always, please leave a review.