The Clock That Stopped (Hetalia Fanfiction)

Tradgedy and an Act of Kindness

Everyone on Earth has a small digital clock on their wrist, counting down until the moment that they meet their soulmate. This story follows a young Englishman called Arthur Kirkland, whose day has finally arrived to finally meet his lover.

10 minutes left.
Arthur glanced anxiously at his wrist, checking how long he had left. He was waiting nervously for his soulmate to appear and to meet them for the first time. He tried to imagine what she'd look like, stunningly beautiful, brilliant figure-
"No, she's my soulmate. It won't matter what she looks like", he thought
7 minutes.
The waiting was killing him, he just wanted to get it over with and meet her so he didn't have to wait here any longer. He worried whether or not he looked alright for the occasion. Wanting to make the moment as perfect as possible, he chose a spot in a small park in the town and sat on a park bench, waiting for her to make an appearance. Arthur wanted to make sure that he made a good first impression, so he was dressed up smart to show what a gentleman he was. But now he felt rather silly, dressed up nice in a public park. But the people around him understood what was about to happen, and they gave him reassuring smiles and thumbs-up as they went past.
5 minutes.
Trembling with nerves, he glanced down at the small clock on his wrist and sighed.
"Not long now", he said quietly to reassure himself
4 minutes.
Tapping his foot impatiently on the ground, he looked around for any sign of them.
Suddenly, a scream fills the air, followed by a screech of tires and a loud thud. Arthur snapped his head in the direction to see what it was. From where he was, he could see that there had just been a car accident.
"Oh, I hope no one was hurt badly. Maybe she's a doctor or a nurse and she'll arrive in the ambulance", he thought
Glancing down at his wrist for the millionth time, he paled in horror at what he saw. The clock had stopped at 3 minutes 45 seconds. Arthur brought his other hand up to his mouth in shock.
Running over to the area of the accident, he looked to see which one was supposed to be his soulmate. The driver was the only one in the vehicle, he was being helped out by a couple of people who were there when the crash happened. He didn't look too badly injured, just a cut on his forehead.
Arthur's stomach dropped when he saw the other crash victim. Lying in front of the car, was a boy who looked only a little bit younger than Arthur. He had dirty blonde hair, including one part that wouldn't sit properly.
"No, it can't be him. Where is she?" Arthur thought as he scanned the area for any other casualties, but the only ones were the boy and the driver.
He cautiously stepped closer to get a proper look at him. The boy's glasses were cracked and knocked squint, nearly falling off and there was a trail of blood dripping from a bad injury on the back of his head. There was no light behind the boy's blue eyes, they stared blankly into nothingness.
Arthur was confused, to say the least. First of all, he wasn't expecting his soulmate to be male.
"I never knew I was... I mean, I never really thought about it, but I guess it explains a few things...", he muttered to himself as he studied the boy carefully
Just to make sure, Arthur pulled back the boy's sleeve to check the clock. It too had stopped at 3 minutes 45 seconds. Another thing that gave it away was in his other hand he held a small bouquet of flowers, that would have been for him if they had gotten the chance to meet.
No doubt about it, this boy was Arthur's soulmate.
Arthur felt a slight relief to have finally known who his soulmate was, but suddenly a wave of grief washed over him as he finally came to terms with what had happened. His one and only soulmate was lying dead in front of him.
Kneeling down and holding the boy close to him, Arthur began to weep. He cried like he had known the boy forever. His whole body shook as he wept for this boy he didn't even know the name of. The paramedics quickly arrived to take the driver and the boy away. As he was placed onto a stretcher, Arthur placed a kiss on the boy's forehead before he was wheeled away into the back of the ambulance to be taken to the morgue.
For the next few days, Arthur was in a state. He would often find himself crying for no reason, and always seemed to be in some sort of trance. Every so often, he would glance down at his wrist, but it would always be the same. 3 minutes, 45 seconds.

Arthur received word that the boy's funeral was to be held next week. He wanted to go, to pay his respects and say a proper goodbye. Dressing up smart with some clothes to suit the occasion, he left the house. Looking up at the sky, to his dismay he saw that it had begun to rain.
"It'll only be a short shower. If I run then I could make it without getting soaked through", he said quietly to himself
He took off. Sprinting down the street, he had only turned the corner when the rain got heavier, lashing down on him. But still he continued to run through the streets to make it to the funeral in time. As the rain had begun to soak it's way through Arthur's coat, he heard a shout from behind him.
"Monsieur!"
Pausing and turning around to look at whoever was shouting, he saw a man just outside the door of a small flower shop. The man smiled when he saw that Arthur had stopped and began to make his way over to him. As he got closer, Arthur could define more of his features, like his blond hair that fell to his jaw-line, and his blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light. Arthur stood for a moment, just watching this man, but then snapped out of this little trance when he began to speak.
"Here, I think that you may need this", the man said in a strong French accent, holding out the umbrella
"Thank you", said Arthur, taking the umbrella, "But won't you need it when you go home?"
"Non, I live in the flat above my shop. You can return it any time, or keep it, it's up to you", the man said with a smile before turning around and walking back to his shop.
Arthur put up the umbrella, feeling relieved to finally have some shelter from the rain.
"Ah, wait!" he suddenly realised, "I never got his name"
But by then, the man had already disappeared back into the shop, and Arthur needed to hurry if he wanted to get to his to-be-soulmate's funeral.
It had only just started when he arrived.
Taking a seat at the back of the church, Arthur listened carefully to the boy's family talking about what he was like when he was alive. He learned that the boys name was Alfred F. Jones, and that he was from America. He then listened to different people saying what a brave, wonderful boy he was, and how much he meant to them.
After the speeches had been made, the coffin was taken out to be lowered into the ground. Arthur watched from a slight distance, he felt that the family might not want to see him there.
After the coffin had been lowered and the crowd started to disintegrate, Arthur felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw a boy that looked just like Alfred, except instead of that bit of hair that wouldn't sit right, this boy had a long curl, and slightly longer hair.
"Hello", greeted Arthur
"H-hello"
The boy spoke softly and quietly, Arthur had to strain to hear him.
"Who are you?" asked the boy (oh how the tables have turned)
"I'm Arthur Kirkland, I was supposed to be Alfred's soulmate", replied Arthur
"Ah, I thought so. I'm Matthew, Alfred's brother"
"It's nice to meet you. I'm terribly sorry for your loss"
The boy went quiet for a minute, and Arthur began to worry if he had said the wrong thing, until Matthew suddenly spoke again.
"He was so excited to meet you, y'know. That morning, he couldn't sit still, always checking his clock and checking if he looked presentable. Did you get to meet him?"
"No, we still had a couple of minutes left"
"Oh..." Matthew went quiet again.
"I wish I had met him"
"You would have liked him. He could be a bit loud and annoying at times, but I know you two would have been a good pair"
This time it was Arthur who went quiet. He couldn't help but think of what it would have been like if they had met.
"I'd better go. I'll see you again sometime, eh?"
"Yes, I'll see you-" Arthur turned to look at Matthew, but found that he had disappeared as suddenly as he'd arrived.