The Masquerade

Chapter 11 - The Flashback pt.2

Both Phil and America woke up with a terrible hangover the next morning. As it was their first one, they had no idea what was happening and therefore were kind of panicked.

They quickly got out of bed, getting ready for the day as much as they could without looking at each other.

While Phil and America had gotten drunk, they hadn't gotten so drunk that they couldn't remember what had happened.

So what had happened was now permanently engraved in their memories, a dark spot on what was once a beautiful friendship.

Without talking to each other, the two of them left the room for the dining hall, where they expected to find their parents.

When they arrived, there was only Britain and Del Pilar in the room. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, along with Phil's brother Martial, must have been sent off, because the two fathers in the room seemed pretty mad.

"Where were you two last night?" Britain asked in an eerily calm tone.

"We were hanging out together." America answered honestly.

"Where? We looked all over for you." This time it was Del Pilar asking the question.

"Well we started in the passageways but then we went to America's room." Phil answered, wisely leaving out the part about how they were drinking.

"All night?" Another tense question. Both Philippines and America knew the next answer would either save or ruin them.

"Not all night." America tried to dodge the question, but right after Phil answered, "We slept together."

There was a silence. And then Phil realized his mistake.

"No no no wait I didn't mean it like that—" Phil tried to correct it, but the damage had already been done.

"You slept with him? Pilipinas, you are in big trouble. You are to go outside now, and we will have this conversation." Del Pilar bursted. "And you are not allowed to see this... this... puta ever again!"

Phil looked over at America. The despair was clear in his bright blue eyes. America waved sadly as his friend was pulled away from his life forever.

The only people left in the room were Britain and America. The tension was thick. The two were silent.

"Whatever happened last night, you will not speak of it. You may have just ruined our reputation for years to come, but if nothing comes out then nothing happened." Britain's calm demeanor had changed, and now it was altogether threatening.

"But we didn't sleep together! Just because we've shared a bed-" America tried to argue, trying to convince his father not to entirely disown him for an off handed comment. But Britain just cut him off.

"Nothing. Happened. You are not to tell anyone what happened." Britain's grip tensed. "Not me. Not the citizens. Not even Canada. Absolutely nothing happened."

America swallowed. "Y-yes sir."

Britain seemed satisfied, although the threatening atmosphere seemed to linger. "You are now dismissed."

America left the room slowly, as if Britain was a sleeping bear he'd rather not provoke.

After leaving the room, America bolted. He ran, not stopping until he reached his room. But he couldn't handle the thoughts swirling around in his brain, too much all at once, so again he ran, this time down to one of the dark passageways he knew so well.

The thoughts and memories weren't gone there, but at least in the darkness he could cry without anyone hearing.

He hid in the dark for at least an hour or two before someone came looking for him.

"America?" Someone called out. America didn't care enough to figure out who's voice it was.

He just curled up into a little ball. "Go away." He said to whoever was looking for him.

Unfortunately, his reply gave his location away, and the person only came closer.

"You're okay. It's just me, Canada."

America looked up to see it was in fact his brother crouching in front of him. He sighed, and moved a little to allow Canada to sit next to him.

"What happened?" Canada asked gently, putting his arm around his brother's shoulder.

"You wouldn't understand." America sniffed, wiping the tears from his face. "You're only 14, after all."

"That's only two years younger than you!" Canada insisted. "But it doesn't matter if I understand. You clearly need someone to talk to, and I get the feeling that Dad isn't going to be that person."

America smiled. "You're right, Cancan."

And so America told him about his grave mistake, what actually happened, and the misunderstanding between Phil and his father.

However, there was a part of the story that America kept hidden, kept to himself. And that was how Britain had acted after Phil left.

Some part of him knew it was just his father overreacting, making a big deal out of something that really was just a mistake. But another, larger part of him felt like it was the truth. Britain didn't care about his sons. He didn't care to hear what actually happened. All he cared about was his reputation, how he looked to the people he ruled.

America didn't want to tell Canada this. Unlike him, his brother adored their father, loving him with all his heart. And knowing that their father didn't even care enough to step in and listen to what actually happened, that would break him.

So America kept it a secret. And he carried the burden alone, for years.

America and Philippines no longer hung out. They avoided each other as much as they could, not wanting to bring back bitter memories. All the childhood memories went from pleasant to painful literally overnight.

Phil was no longer willing to go out of his way for shenanigans. His aura had become more hardened and serious, and he wasn't about to budge.

America too had changed. He had become much more cautious, and while you could find him still willing to cause trouble if he was in a good mood, those days were few and far between, and the pranks pulled were a lot less intense in nature.

For two years, America dreaded holding another ball out of fear of making another mistake. And clearly, so did Britain, because no balls were held, and birthday celebrations were kept between the family.

Which was totally fine with America.

Until of course that fateful day three weeks ago.