Ex's to Lovers

Chapter 60

In Which Alfred Actually Gets It, and Decides To Break Up With Ivan

Usually, Alfred started to zone out by the third sentence Francis spoke. By the time Francis got to the middle of whatever he was speaking about, Alfred was usually already preoccupied in another activity and had no idea Francis was still talking. He never knew what happened at the end of Francis's talks, since he was usually long gone by then. If Alfred had a defense, it would probably be that Francis's talks were "boring" and "stupid" which Arthur would snicker at and Mathew would point out there was no way Alfred would know that, since he never listened.

Fortunately for Alfred, and everyone reading, this time Francis had chosen a subject that caught Alfred's attention. That is to say, Francis started off by talking about Ivan, and Alfred, for once interested in why the school's love guru was talking to him about Ivan, chose to listen for once. Everytime Alfred's attention wandered off, Francis would say something about Ivan that brought his attention back. So, however miraculously, it was that Alfred somehow actually listened to Francis's lecture for once in his life. By the end of his lecture, Alfred had learned three things:

1) Francis either needed to get a hair tie, or stop brushing his hair out of his face. It wasn't cool, just annoying.

2) Ivan apparently had a thing against hamsters. Alfred didn't know what to do with this information, but figured it would come in handy during future pranks.

3) Alfred liked Ivan. Not as a friend, or a rival, but in the way everyone else had thought he did.

With any other person, this sudden change from rival to romantic interest might have left the person angsting and torn. And Alfred was the same... For all of five minutes. Gilbert could have sworn Alfred went through all five stages of grief in those five minutes, making a variety of exaggerated and dramatic expressions,before settling into an unnerving expression of determination.

Alfred was a simple person. He was the type of person who decided he wanted to do something on a whim, did it, then usually regretted it later - or at least regretted the scolding he got because of it, like that time he broke his arm jumping off the roof into a snowbank, then had to sit through an hour's worth of lecturing from Arthur and half that time of lecturing and fretting by Mathew, and twice that time of worrying by Francis, and the following two years of teasing by Ivan. So naturally, after completing his denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, Alfred decided his next move in a whim.

That is to say, since he'd finally accepted he liked Ivan-Romantically- he may as well date Ivan. The issue with doing that was, unfortunately, the fact he was already dating Ivan. So, after a full ten minutes of deliberations, Alfred came to the same conclusion he'd come to before speaking to Francis.

"I need to break up with Ivan."

It was at this point Gilbert had to physically stop himself from slamming his head into the wall, and Francis started forward with a cry.

"Alfred?"

Alfred didn't bother to stop and explain, already halfway out the door. Gilbert collapsed against Francis with a groan, muttering various "Why me?"s and complaining about how hopeless Alfred was. Ivan, who was doing a free study period, felt the inexplicable chill of something about to go wrong run down his back.