The Death of the Ash (Hetalia X Reader)

Day 4

"So," Matthew looked over at (Y/n).  "The flu, huh?"

"This is your fault." (Y/n) grumbled, eyes latched onto her bedroom ceiling.  "If it weren't for you yesterday, Paige wouldn't have thought I was crazy and wouldn't have called my mum."

"Sorry." Matthew apologized sheepishly.  He turned over onto his side to be able to face her.  The two of them were on (Y/n)'s bed; (Y/n) was under the blankets and Mattew on top of them.

"So you're stuck." (Y/n) turns her head to face him.  She reaches out and flaps her hand in the direction of his forearm.  She knew she wouldn't be able to touch him and luckily Matthew was smart enough to know what she wanted.

He pulled away his sleeve and showed her the countdown.

56d, 15h, 46m, 18s

"We still have time." She reassured herself.  For some reason she felt like she owed him something.  He did die on her property.

Matthew nodded and covered his arm.  He flopped onto his back with a sigh.  "We do." There was a long silence.  "Are you willing to go visit my dads for me?" Matthew asked suddenly, sounding hopeful.

(Y/n) frowned.  "Your dad's?" She hesitated. "Wouldn't that be awkward... you know... a strange girl showing up on your doorstep, claiming that she sees your dead son- yeah that would work." She finished sarcastically with a flourish of her hands.

Matthew rolled his eyes.  "Fine. It was worth a try." It's was quiet again.  "I miss them." Matthew smiled mournfully.

"Why don't you go and visit them, then?" (Y/n) suggested.

"I can't leave you." He said.  She was about to comment how sweet that was but Matthew continued. "My glasses are what link me to the world and you have them. Wherever you go, I go."

"Ah. I see." (Y/n) looked away.  She sat up abruptly.  "I'm bored.  I'm not sick.  I'm going to school." She said with determination.

Matthew sat up as she slid out of her bed.  "You sure?" He got up and circled the bed towards her. " Won't your friend just call your mum or something like that."

"No." (Y/n) pulled on a cardigan and a pair of sweatpants.  "I'll kill her if she does."

Matthew looked taken aback.  "Rude." He grinned.

She shrugged and made her way out of her bedroom, down the stairs and stopped in the kitchen for an apple.  "I hope you're okay with walking." She said, rolling the green fruit in her palm.

Matthew was the one to shrug this time.  "I don't really care."

After (Y/n) had grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, they hurried out the back door and through the 'secret passageway'.  "Why are you going this way?" Matthew asked as soon as they were on the other side of the fence.

"Well I don't know if you've noticed, but there is a shrine dedicated to you in my front lawn." She paused.  "If someone sees you that might not go over too well..."

"I'm a ghost." Matthew informed you with a slight smirk.  "They're not going to see me."

(Y/n) was quiet for a moment.  "Right. I forgot."

***

"Are you feeling better?" Paige asked with a frown.  "You were really kind of freaking me out yesterday."

The girls were sitting across from each other in the noisy cafeteria.  Matthew was hanging around awkwardly, dodging people with trays of food even though they'd actually go right through him.  "I'm fine." (Y/n) waved away Paige's hand that had been searching for her forehead.

Paige turned her attention back to her lunch.  "Who were you seeing?" She asked, looking back up and at her friend. She was absent-mindedly poking at her salad with her fork.  "Was it your dad?"

(Y/n) shook her head.  Her dad had died a few years prior due to breast cancer.  She didn't even know men could get breast cancer.  "It was the guy that died the other day."

Paige paused.  "Is he here now?" She asked eagerly.  "Wait no. Even more important; is he hot?"

(Y/n) eyes flicked over to where Matthew was standing.  He was busy looking around the cafeteria, probably searching for his friends.  At some point during the day, he had pulled his hair back into a small ponytail at the base of his skull.  A few blond strands had escaped the elastic and were brushing up against his cheeks and the rims of his glasses.

He looked back towards (Y/n) as if he'd felt her eyes on him.  "What?" He asked innocently.

(Y/n) looked back at Paige.  "He's ok."

"What's his name?" Paige asked, leaning further across the table.  "I mean, I heard rumors about who he was but I don't know for sure."

"Matthew." (Y/n) said quietly.  Matthew took the empty spot on the cafeteria bench beside her.  "His name is Matthew Williams."

"Was." He corrected, looking down at the bland grey tabletop.  "My name was Matthew Williams as far as anyone in this school is concerned.  Anyone in this world, actually."

"Except me.  I see you so for me you still are." (Y/n) wanted to reach out and touch him.  He looked so sad in this moment and it broke her heart. "If it makes you feel an better, we are all remembering you."

"You're talking to him now, aren't you?" Paige asked, grinning.

(Y/n) nodded but didn't turn her attention away from Matthew.