Cursed doll!England x Reader - I'll help you-

Chapter 7

"Come on, Arthur! It's a 15 minute drive to the restaurant! They won't hold the reservation forever!" You called from the couch.

"Sorry, _______!" He said, stumbling out of the bathroom "I was trying to put on this stupid thing!" He held up the red, velvet tie you had bought him. You smiled a bit as you stood up and walked over and took the tie from him. You skillfully looped the tie around his neck and in less than five seconds you had it sitting perfectly on his new suit. As you stepped back, you could have sworn you saw his face had a bit of red to it, but shrugged it off when it vanished after a moment.

After much convincing, you managed to talk Arthur into using the car to get to the restaurant. He sat in the passenger's seat, strapped his seatbelt on as tight as he could, grasped the seat so hard his knuckles turned white, and shut his eyes so tightly that it looked painful. You, of course, were driving. About halfway to the restaurant, Arthur worked up enough courage to crack an eye and let out a breath so he could talk.

"Where exactly are we going, love?"

"My friends Lovino and Feliciano own a high class Italian restaurant a few blocks away. They said they'd give me a 'best friend' discount." You explained "You'll like it; they taught me to make that pasta and veal I gave you our third night together, remember?"

"That's all fine and nice, _______, but could you please slow down." He asked turning a little green.

"Arthur, I'm going 35 in a 40 mile per hour zone. If I go any slower, old ladies are gonna start giving me dirty looks! Here, I'll turn on some music to calm your nerves." You reached over and switched on the radio and managed to find a station that plays classical music. Arthur closed both eyes again, but now he looked much calmer than he did before.

The rest of the drive was silent, Arthur still clinging to his seat with his eyes closed. It only took a few minutes to reach the restaurant, 'Little Sicily'. Arthur refused to move a centimeter until you pulled the key out of the ignition. The second he heard the keys clinging in your hand, in a flash he had his seat belt off and slammed the car door behind him when he got out.

"Ahem" you said, getting Arthur's attention. "I'm a young lady at a fine eating establishment with no male escort to take my arm."

"Oh right!" He said, rushing to your side and offering you his arm. You weaved your arm into his and the two of you walked inside, Arthur holding the door for you like a gentleman.

"There you are ragazza!" a gruff voice said as soon as you got in the door. It was Lovino who was wearing his white (with a few stains of red) chef's uniform, complete with a tall hat that hid his light brown hair (although his curl still poked through). "You're almost 20 minutes late!"

"Sorry, Lovino" you said, abiding by his 'no nicknames' rule. "Traffic."

"Yeah yeah. You're lucky you're friends with us, otherwise we'd have crossed out your reservation already." He said, scribbling something into the guest book.

"And that's why I love you guys!" you teased, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Cut it out, bella." He said, wiping the kiss of his cheek. "Just wait here for the hostess to come back. I need to get back to the kitchen."

"See ya later, Lovino!" you said waving to him as he left.

"_______! Ve~!" said another, much more lighthearted voice as a pair of arms wrapped around your neck.

"Hi Feli" you said, wrestling him off your shoulders. "How the heck are ya?"

"Ve~ bella, I was so happy when I found out you were coming tonight! Ooh, who's this? Is he your date?" he rambled bouncing up and down. He was wearing the same uniform as his brother, only his coat and apron had much bigger stains to reflect his clumsiness.

"F-Feli, shouldn't you be in the kitchen?"

"Oh, right! I'll see you later, bella~!" he gave a wave before running back to join his brother.

"Um, excuse me" a woman in a hostess uniform said walking up to you "Ms._______? Your table's ready."

As she led you to the table, which was in the garden, Arthur leaned over and whispered "_______, what's a 'date'?"

"I'll explain later." You said, keeping your eyes forward.


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"What I don't understand is why all these people are out here" Arthur rambled "It's past one in the morning yet this place is packed!"

"Arthur" you sighed holding a hand to your forehead "You and I obviously need to have a long talk about the 'night life'."

"Does it have anything to do with 'dates'?"

"...kinda."

The waiter returned with the wine that you ordered as well with a basket of freshly baked bread and olive oil. He took your orders (you ordered the chicken parmesan with the side of pasta and Arthur got the veal parmesan which he liked so much) and left you again. Arthur poured the wine, filling the glasses half way. You took your glass and held it in one hand while resting your head in the palm of the other. You looked out to the street and admired the garden growing around 'Little Sicily' as the lovely scent of the candle on your table drifted by your nose.

The garden had a nice view of the shops on the street, most of which were still open since many of the restaurant patrons like to shop while they wait for a table. Your eyes then drifted up to the sky, which was beautifully lit by the endless mass of stars and the full moon. You eventually decided to return your eyes to Arthur only to discover that he was staring as you. You only barely caught it; he averted his eyes as soon as you looked at him, but you knew he was staring.

Before you could question him about it, the dinners arrived and distracted you. Who can concentrate with a hot, steaming plate of fresh made pasta sitting in front of you?! Most of dinner was spent with idle small talk between the two of you and the occasional laugh. Arthur kept pressuring you to tell him what a date was, but you kept insisting that it was better to explain at home.

After your plates were picked clean, you and Arthur continued to talk over wine. Before long it was nearly three in the morning. But you didn't care at all. It was almost as if everyone and everything else in the world disappeared except for you and Arthur. Or at least it was until

"Yo! _______, dude! What's up?!"

You almost choked on your wine at the sound of Alfred's voice. You wanted it to be just your imagination, but there he was, leaning on the garden fence, staring at you through his glasses.

"A-A-A-Alfred" you studdered "W-what are you doing here?!"

"Well me and some buds were at a midnight movie primer and I was just walking home when I saw you over here! So I decided to say hi! Who's this?" he said, finally acknowledging Arthur's existence.

"This? Oh, uh th-this is, um, he's uh-" you were desperately trying to make something up, but then

"My name's Arthur" the Englishman said with a dark gaze "Arthur Kirkland. Perhaps you recall our first meeting?"

It took a minute, but it finally clicked to Alfred who Arthur was. Alfred immediately reached over and grabbed you, trying to pull you over to his side of the fence.

"Alfred!" you screeched "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm trying to save you, dude!" he said, wrapping an arm around your waist.

"Let go of her!" Arthur shouted, also taking hold of you and pulling you back into the garden.

"YOU let go of her, you possessed freak!" Alfred shouted back, tightening his grip on you.

"I'm not the one trying to drag her over a fence, you hamburger obsessed pig!"

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?!" Lovino shouted as he and his brother ran out into the garden.

"Dudes! Help me rescue _______!" Alfred called to them as he kept trying to 'save' you.

"Save her from what?" Feliciano asked, cocking his head.

"From that thing holding her there!" Alfred said, pointing at Arthur.

"You mean her date?" the younger twin asked.

"DATE?! That thing is just a creepy, haunted toy that I got stuck with a long time ago. He's not even a real person! He's soulless!"

At that, Arthur's grip on you loosened and his pupils shrank. You knew Alfred had hit a soft spot when he said Arthur didn't have a soul, even though he probably didn't know what it meant to him. You had officially had enough. You wrestled yourself from Alfred's grip and gave him a firm, painful slap across his face. He held the bright red mark on his cheek.

"_______, dude, what the-"

"Burn in hell, Alfred!" you snapped at him. You reached over and grabbed Arthur's hand and began pulling him behind you. "Let's go Arthur."

You began pulling him back inside. "I'll send you a check for the meal." You said to the Vargas twins as you passed them.

"Uh, forget it, bella." Lovino croaked out, trying to comprehend the situation "It's on the house."

The younger twin meanwhile was waving to you as you left. "Ve~! Come back again!"