What's On The Inside Matters

Chapter 6

3rd Person POV:

After one hour all the nations came back, America was smiling again and Russia noticed how dark his eyes truly were.

"This next one is Alfred's." England said, for everyone agreed on calling each other by their human names.

"Alfred was there when the people of Roanoke [1] disappeared. He knows what happened to them. But he never told anyone what happened. He never told anyone anything. Whether it traumatized him, or he simply doesn't want to talk about it, no one knows. He's the only one who knows what happened to those people. Any time Roanoke is mentioned, he either goes quiet or just tries to change the subject, He won't talk about it to anyone. Not to Japan, not England. Not even Canada. And he wants to keep it that way." Everyone remained silent as England continued.

"This is a statement.

Most countries are pro gamers." Many nations chuckled, for it was true.

"It's one of mine.

England doesn't mind being alone. He just doesn't want it to be because everyone left him." Silence was heard, so he continued.

"Another one for Alfred.

America hides a lot of things behind his smile." England cast a suspicious look at America, who was, of course; smiling.

"The next one is frog face's.

Dear diary, I was reading to Mathieu from his favorite storybook today when he stopped me and asked what exactly and ogre was. God forgive me- I ended up describing Angleterre! I don't want Arthur to take my Mathieu away from me, and the child won't know the difference and will just avoid him, so no harm done... right?" America was laughing on the ground as England, France and Canada were blushing a deep shade of crimson.

"This next one is Russia's.

"He is lonely, but pretends he doesn't know it. When the Soviet Union dissolved [2], it was the first time he admitted to himself that he was alone. The sunflowers he loved so much were a symbol of what he couldn't have as a nation: happiness. He wishes that one day someone will come along and show him what it means to be a friend. And what true happiness is."

"We will always be friends, aru."

"Yeah dude! Don't even think otherwise!"

"I will read next, eh?" Canada said softly, while holding a small bear cub.

"Fine then, Canada." England spoke whilst handing Canada the book.

"The first one is, America's..." He spoke even quieter and tears started to well up in his eyes. Russia looked over at America and saw that his smile dropped.

"Well get on with it then." England said, worry etching his aura.

"O-Ok then,

America, along with the highest rate of obesity, has the highest rate of eating disorders. Nobody knows that after Alfred eats all of those cheeseburgers, he forces himself to vomit them back up." Canada finished and set the book down with a shaky hand.

All eyes trailed over to the nation in the bomber jacket and as if time sped up, Canada, England, and France were dragging him out of the door, into a secluded room. Once they seated America on the couch, they locked the door and sat down next to him.

"How long, Alfred." England said in a saddened tone, and America mumbled an answer; too soft for anyone to hear.

"Please, Al, we need to know." Canada said, tears still visible on his face.

"Four or five years, I don't know, I've been doing it for so long..." He said while looking at his lap.

"Amérique, please remove your jacket." France said, speaking up. America started to shake slightly and slowly un-zipped his jacket, shrugging it off of his shoulders.

The three other nations noticed how small he looked without the jacket to cover it up. Slowly France went to lift up his under-shirt. What they saw made England and France start to cry, Canada has been crying since he read the statement. All of his ribs were showing, his hips jutted out and his shoulder-blades poked out sharply.

"W-Why?" England asked, while France put his shirt back down. And America visibly tensed, with anger.

"You really want to know?" He asked, and the others nodded.

"It's because of all the insults I get! Every meeting I am called fat and stupid! I UNDERSTAND EVERY WORD! I SPEAK ALMOST ALL OF THE EUROPEAN LANGUAGES! I DO IT SO MY SELF-ESTEEM WON'T GET ANY LOWER!" He had his jacket on again and was standing.

He didn't know that the other nations were on the other side of the door. Tears were running down his face as he had his outburst. The others didn't know how to react so they stayed silent. America fell onto his knees and started sobbing into his hands. France, Canada and England snapped out of their trance and hugged the hurting nation. About ten minutes later, everyone stopped crying; for the nation's eavesdropping were crying too. That included everyone else from the group.

Who knew words caused that much pain?