Canada x Shy! Reader x America

Chapter 3: Confidence Lessons

   (Y/N), Matthew, and Alfred sat in a circle on the rug that covered the living room floor. (Y/N) was nervous. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to be confident. Even if she was, she was certain she wouldn't be able to around groups of people. But, she wanted to be able to feel better about herself, so she was going to at least try to be more confident.
   "Okay! Are you ready?" Alfred said smiling. (Y/N) nodded and gave a small smile. Alfred gave her a disappointed look. "W-what?" she asked.
   "That's no way to start off a confidence lesson," he smiled, "Now try again. Are you ready?!" He said louder than before.
   "Yes," she said.
   "Louder!" Alfred encouraged.
   "Yes," She said a bit louder than before.
   "Louder!" Matthew joined in.
   "Yes!" She said, in what would be considered a normal talking voice.
   "Louder!!" They said in unison
   "Yes!" She said, even louder than before.
   Matthew whispered something to Alfred, who nodded in response. Matthew stood and went over to the couch and grabbed the remote, while Alfred sat and reached for the gaming controller.
   Alfred unpaused the game and Matthew turned the volume all the way back up to its original blasting volume.
   Matthew walked back over to (Y/N). He smiled and said loud enough so she could hear, "NOW TRY!"
   (Y/N) decided not to waste her breath. She inhaled deeply and shouted:
"YES! I'M READY!"
   Alfred paused the game and smiled.
"Good!" He said, "Just don't be that loud all the time though. Apparently it annoys some people." He rolls his eyes at his last statement, and (Y/N) giggles.
   "Don't worry. I won't," she responded with a small grin.
   A weird feeling came over Alfred when (Y/N) smiled at him. It made him want to see her smile more. He couldn't exactly tell what it was... But for now, he just pushed it aside.
   "Well, I think we're off to a pretty good start, eh?" Matthew stated with a smile. "Yeah," Alfred agrees, "but now it's time to actually start."
   (Y/N) let out a sigh. "I'm not sure my voice will be able to take much more yelling..."
   "Don't worry," Alfred said returning to his spot on the floor as Matthew did the same, "You won't have to yell anymore." "But you at least need to talk  in a normal voice," Matthew continues.
   (Y/N) nodded. "Great!" Alfred said enthusiastically, "Let's get started then!" There was a pause, then Alfred looked  at Matthew.
   "So... What should we do first," Alfred asked.
   "Eh?! Why are you asking me? You're the more confident one!" Matthew retorted.
   "Well, you're the smart one! You should be coming up with ideas!"
   "Why should I be coming up with ideas? I'm not really confident, so how would I know how to make others confident?"
   (Y/N) slightly laughed at their bickering. The two boys looked at her. "O-oh, I'm sorry," she said, "It was just kind of funny."
   "Good!" Alfred said, "Express yourself! That's one part of being confident!"
   "You mean that you planned that?" Matthew asked.
   "Nope!" Alfred responded.
   Matthew let out a sigh and punched Alfred lightly on the shoulder.
   "Laughing is good!" Alfred encouraged, "You should laugh more! Here. Try telling me a joke." Alfred and Matthew sat and stared at (Y/N). She sat in silence for a moment to think of a good joke.
   "Uh... What kind of prize should the person who invented knock-knock jokes get?" She paused. "A no-bell prize."
   As soon as the joke left her mouth, (Y/N) thought it sounded stupid. But apparently it wasn't. Alfred and Matthew started to laugh. "That's a pretty good one," Matthew said.
   "R-really?" She asked.
   "Yeah," Alfred responded, "You're pretty funny." (Y/N) smiled shyly.
   "Laughing expresses who you are," Alfred said, "Alright! That was good, but let's get back to your lesson!"
   For about an hour, Matthew and Alfred worked with (Y/N) to improve her confidence. They worked on her speaking voice, her posture, and attempted to get her to open up and talk about herself more. After they were done for the day, (Y/N) left, but said she would try to come again the next day.
   "She's definitely improved a lot from how she was when I first met her," Matthew said to Alfred as they both sat on the couch. "She seems determined not to talk aboot herself more, eh..."
   Alfred waved his hand. "It'll just take a while. Don't worry about it, dude."
   "She looked like she was having a good time though," the Canadian said while reaching over for his book on the side table.
   The American nodded. "Yeah. I had fun, too! (Y/N) is a really funny and nice girl."
   "If only she would show it more..."
   "Yeah..."
   (Y/N) walked home with a small smile on her face. She was looking forward to hanging out with Matthew and Alfred more. She wasn't exactly sure when she would be able to open up to them though. She didn't like talking about herself or her life. It kind of depressed her, with how little she had ever done and what a terrible state her family was in...
Maybe one day I'll tell them... She thought. Maybe they'll be able to help me... Cheer me up... Something like that... But not yet... I probably wouldn't be able to say more than five sentences without breaking into tears... Maybe when I have more confidence... Or would talking about it give me more confidence? I don't know... I'll tell them one day though... One day...
   (Y/N) walked home wondering what the changes in her life would bring.