Just stay still. Stay still, _____.

Maybe he won't see you if you don't move.

Just...

stay...

sti---...

"Uh, love? Is something wrong? The scones are getting cold..."

Dammit.

I nervously made my way towards the blonde-haired, green-eyed Brit and eyed his basket of....delicacies.

Is it just me, or is there really a weird aura emanating from the scones?

I gulped.

Oh my goodness, please let me live...

I picked up the charcoal-like pastry and spoke, "Mhhm, I'll never know until I try it, righ---"

"HAHAHAHA! Don't worry, dudette!! The HERO is here to save you!!!" America exclaimed as he picked me up from behind and carried me in his arms.

"W-What are you doing, Am--Alfred?!!" I yelled frantically, shocked by his sudden action.

"You'll thank me later! For now, let's get you outta here!" he replied.

"Hey!! What the bloody hell are you doing, you git?!" England said angrily.

America turned to him and spoke, "Seriously, dude! You really want her to make us leave? She's really cool, let's not give her a reason to hate you---and the rest of us! :P"

"N-Nonsense! I'm just offering her a scone!" England retorted, holding up the basket.

At that, America ran, carrying me over to the living room where the others were.

The guys raised their eyebrows as they saw the three of us. It looked pretty funny, actually.

I was being carried by America.

America and I were being chased after by England.

England was wearing a pink apron, holding a basket of burnt scones--and of course, chasing after us.

"Aiyah. What are you guys, doing?" China asked as he watched us go in circles around the living room.

"Something silly." I giggled.

"Alfred, stop this already, you just ate. And please let  miss _________  down." Germany ordered the hyper American.

"HAHAHAHA! But I'm just saving the dudette from the danger of Eyebrow's awful scones!" America joked.

France laughed. "Oh~ You're right! His scones taste horrible!"

"Shut up, frog!!"

"Yeah! Dude, it's seriously bad." America said to England, letting me down gently on one of the sofas.

".......Is that so." England weakly let out.

He then turned and went back to the kitchen.

The rest of us were silent for a while.

"It's sorta my fault, too...but you know....you guys could have said it on a nicer way." I told them blankly.

They just shrugged and mumbled out a few words of "sorry".

I crossed my arms and faced them "Mhhm... Look, since we guys are going to live with each other for a while...I want us to get along. ALL of us. I'm not asking you to be all friendly with each other---'cause from what I've observed--I don't think all of you guys are in good terms...but...at least be civil, okay? Know the limits."

They nodded.

"Yeah...really sorry about that, dudette."

"Oui... We shouldn't have said that."

I raised an eyebrow, then brightened.

"Apology accepted!!! :D" I told them cheerfully.

"E-Eh? _______-san, you forgave them that easily?" Japan asked, confused.

"There's got to be a catch, da?" Russia pointed out.

"YEP!" I exclaimed.

----------*------------*----------*-----------*-----------*------*-----------*--------*

"Arthur...?" I said as I tapped his shoulder.

He had his head down, resting on the kitchen counter.

"Sorry about trying to feed you with my *awful* cooking, love." he said in a depressed tone.

I sat on a chair beside him. "You don't need to be sorry about anything. It's our fault. It was actually pretty sweet of you to make scones for me. We'd love to try them." I told him.

"B-But they said that it was awful! You don't need to if you don't really want to---hold on...'we'?" he raised a thick eyebrow.

"Yep!" I said as I dragged America and France to the room.

England gave a look of confusion, while the other two guys were sweating nervously.

"L-Look, fille--we could just say we're sorry, right??" France gulped.

America nodded. "Y-Yeah. There's no need to---"

"Here ya guys go!~" I said as I handed them each a scone. I took one for myself, as well.

All England could do was stand there quietly and wait for the worst.

At the count of three, we all bit the charcoal-coloured pastry.

"Augh...It's...It's actually okay, A-Arthur, dude." America spat out, trying to get the taste off his mind. He didn't want to get ______ upset if he said something bad.

"It is?" The Brit mused, looking hopeful.

France looked away, but spoke, "U-Uh oui... It's not as good as big brother's cooking, but it's alright..."

England couldn't believe what he was hearing.

I squinted at America and France. "I told you guys to be nice. Not to lie."

They looked at me in a confused manner and spoke all at once.

"Wait. What?"

I took another bite of the scone. "Arthur, I'm sorry..but this batch of scones are quite burnt. Don't worry, it's not that awful like how they think it usually is. You just need to practice more. I really appreciate the thought and effort you put into it, though."

"I-I see. I guess I did leave them in the oven a tad too long. Sorry about that...but...thank you." Arthur said whilst scratching his head shyly.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and patted him. "Maybe we could make scones together sometime. You could teach me how and I'll keep watch over ya. Sounds like a plan?"

"Eh? Uh, sure. I'd be delighted to." England replied and gave a warm smile.

"Alrightie, then!~ Let's go back to the others~" I told them. Arthur went ahead while I turned to face the confused American and Frenchman.

Their faces were priceless, looking like they want to say, "Whaaaaat?!" with their jaws dropped.

I giggled. "Sillies. Being a good friend means pointing out the other person's fault for the sake of their improvement and well-being. You tell them honestly as a friend in a sincere way. Not by picking on them and using their flaws to bring them down. No need to lie, just know what's right." As I finished my spur-of-the-moment speech, I stuck my tongue out to them and chuckled.

"Dudette....that was deep." America commented.

As a not-so-innocent person who makes a lot of innuendos, I said "Ohwp. That's what he said." as a reflex reaction.

((Sorry if you're a pure person who doesn't have a mind like me ;w; //shot))

The two were surprised at what I said, but laughed hysterically, too.

"My my. You're an interesting character, belle fille~" France said, amused.

"Lol. Really cool. Hahaha!" America said, still clutching his stomach.

I shrugged. "Ah..thanks...but I'm not really all that special. I don't really have any strong points. That's probably why my family doesn't...consider me as an asset to them. Mhhm...more like a liability. Heh."

They creased their forehead.

"But--"

"Oh! I almost forgot about the others! I'll go ahead." I said quickly, not wanting the previous conversation to continue.

I rushed over to the living room, America and France following after me.

When I got there, the other countries were having chaos of their own.

Germany being insulted by Romano, with Italy in the middle, crying...

China being reprimanded by Japan on something about bootlegs and rip-offs...

England glaring at Russia, while Russia just hums to himself--probably thinking about how he'll enjoy seeing the others' agonized and how they'll "become one" with him...

And then Prussia...

...pressing his face onto a mirror whilst saying, "You're awesome!" to himself...

Oh! And Canada...well, not really being involved in the chaos since the others find him invisible.

("Don't worry, Canada ;w; We love you." Author said.)

America and France decided to join the commotion.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I listen to them rattle on words like,

"Bastardo macho potato"

"F-Fratello!"

"Aiyah. I swear it's original, aru!"

"You're awesome. You're awesome. You're awesome. AWESOOOMMMEE! Kesesesese!!"

"Dufufufu~"

"Do they even know I'm here?"

"Ohohohohon~"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

.....

I don't know if I should be fangirling or facepalming.

I mean, this is crazy!

Hetalia characters! In my house! Seriously!

Ah...but it's nice to hear some noise at the house now. Unlike before, when everyone kept to themselves and maintained a white noise sounding like household.

The place used to be so lifeless and dull...

Now, it's like they brought so much colour and energy to the house...

It feels...warm. Secure and relaxing...

What's this feeling...?

Ah.

...."at home"...

Is this really?

I don't know yet.

To think... I'd actually have real live Hetalia characters...in my house! What else could become possible??

Heh.

I'll find out sooner or later...

I mean...

This is only just the beginning.