My Brother's Best Friend • Prucan

Chemistry

On Monday morning, Matthew couldn't help but laugh as he noticed the changes in attitudes of Arthur and Alfred. Alfred overall seemed way happier but very keen to avoid Arthur in the halls between periods. Arthur just wouldn't shut up about how much he "hated" Alfred and his cocky attitude. He could barely shut up about him.

Matthew, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about Gilbert. Their almost-kiss on the stairs on Friday had Matthew seriously freaking out. He desperately wanted to kiss him but he lost the chance. He wondered if Gilbert felt the same way. Probably not. Gilbert was way cooler than him anyway. 

As Matthew walked to third period, he got a text on his phone from Arthur. 

Arthur: Ugh I have gym in a few. Your brother is going to be there. If I come out of gym with a dodgeball-shaped bruise, it's because your brother tried to pelt me with one. 

Matthew: Geez Arthur! You guys don't shut up about each other. I'm starting to think you're in love

Arthur: EW. I WILL NEVER LOVE THAT SLIMEBALL. IF YOU EVER CATCH ME EVEN TALKING TO ALFRED PLEASE HIT ME IN THE FACE WITH A HISTORY BOOK.

Matthew: Whatever you say....

Arthur: What does that mean?

Matthew: Oh nothing! Just have fun in gym.

Arthur: Okay? bye.

Matthew rolled his eyes as he shoved his phone back in his pocket. Arthur was in denial so hard it was making Matthew's brain hurt. As he reached his chem class he realized he was five minutes early. No one was in the classroom, so he decided to sit down in the back and play on his phone while he waited. Scrolling through his notifications, he noticed a follow request on Instagram from GBeilschmidt. Matthew immediately flushed as he realized it was Gilbert. Accepting the request, he followed Gilbert back, a little giddy at the fact that Gilbert had even searched for him on Instagram. 

"Hey Mattie!" Matthew heard as he looked up from his phone. He immediately shoved it into his pocket as he noticed it was Gilbert. 

"Oh- Hi Gilbert." Matthew responded cooly, trying way too hard not to show how excited he was on the inside. Gilbert smiled back and sat next to him, much to Matthew's surprise.

"I heard we're doing a lab today. Wanna be partners?" Gilbert questioned, pulling his notebook out of his bag and setting it down on the table.

"Sure! We've already proven we work well together anyway, why not be lab partners?" Matthew joked, nudging Gilbert with his elbow teasingly.

"I still can't believe that happened. That was insane." Gilbert responded, his face still in disbelief from recollection of the Friday before. 

"It was also really fun. We should all hang out again as a group soon." Matthew suggested, smiling as he scribbled on his homework with a pen. 

"Totally, that'd be awesome! I'm hanging out with Antonio and Francis after school today if you want to come. You can ask Alfred and Arthur too. It'll be really fun. Antonio's house is always really wild." Gilbert suggested. Matthew contemplated the hangout for a moment before responding. It was a school night, but he also really wanted to hang out with Gilbert. He also really wanted to see what the legendary "BTT" hangouts were like. He always heard about their little trio and the shenanigans they got up to but never really expected to be friends with any of them. 

"I'll ask Alfred! He'll probably be able to drive us." Matthew responded with a smile just as the bell rang, signifying the start of class. As the other students filed in, the two boys organized their papers and waited for class to begin. 

~

After chem class, Matthew made sure to check his phone to check for any updates from Arthur. He got nothing. Chem had been filled with a lot of flirting and joking around. The entire class was completely freaked out by their friendliness. Matthew was the polar opposite of Gilbert, yet they were totally messing around and getting along as they dumped magnesium into hydrochloric acid solution and watched it react. At one point the teacher even made a comment about their "chemistry" under his breath but Matthew ignored it, hoping that Gilbert didn't hear. 

On his way to lunch, Matthew met up with Arthur at their lockers, which were conveniently placed right next to each other.

"How was gym?" Matthew joked, nudging Arthur in the rib with a smile. 

"Surprisingly good! For once in our entire lives, the gym teacher put me and Alfred on the same team so that he couldn't hit me. He spent the whole time blocking me from Ludwig's wrath. That boy is way too muscular to be in high school." Arthur admitted, shrugging casually. Matthew was surprised. Usually Alfred teased Arthur mercilessly and even asked the gym teacher for them to be on separate teams. That kiss must've really changed things. "How was chemistry?" 

"It was cool. I was partners with Gilbert and we had a lab so it wasn't too boring." Matthew stated, grabbing his books out of his lockers as they turned and headed towards lunch. 

"Quick question. Is anything going on between you two? You were pretty flirtatious Friday night." Arthur questioned, raising his bushy eyes in concern. 

"No! Where did you even come up with that assumption?!" Matthew defended, sounding a little too frantic to be taken seriously.

"You're getting awfully defensive for someone who has nothing to hide."

"I should ask you the same about my brother!" Matthew shot back, his face turning bright red in embarrassment. 

"SHUT UP YOU GIT!" Arthur whisper-yelled, clutching his books to his chest even tighter as they walked closer and closer to the ocean of students in the cafeteria. 

"Anyway, wanna hang out tonight? I know it's a school night and everything but it's at Antonio's. If you want to come Alfred's probably going to be there too." Matthew asked, looking down at his bright-red friend. 

"We were invited to a BTT hang out?" Arthur questioned, genuinely surprised. Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis were always such a tight group of friends it was surprising when anyone else was ever invited to hang out with them. 

"Yeah. I think Lovino will be there too though, we can talk to him when we get to the lunch table." Matthew explained. 

"Sounds fun. I'll go."

"Perfect."