Flowers and Darkness

Chapter 4

~Wait: five parts in one day? Wow, this whole quarantine thing is doing wonders for my creativity. But seriously, make sure to wash your hands regularly. Hope everyone is staying safe!~

The whole school day, I was consumed with excitement for the "not-date" at Canada's house. Surprisingly, America didn't say or do anything to me, so that was a first. As the day dragged on, the classes seemed to take twice as long, but finally the final bell rang, and with a smile on my face, I limped over to Canada's locker, leaning on the wall for support.

"Hey Canada, how's your day been?" I asked.
"Pretty good," he said. He turned and looked at me. "But it's about to get better." I rolled my eyes.
"That was so sappy," I said, playfully punching him in the arm. "Now let's go. And also, could you help me walk?"
"Is it still hurting?" he said worriedly.
"I'm fine," I said. "It's just a sprain." It had been throbbing painfully even when I didn't put any weight on it, but I didn't need him to worry about me any more.

He put my arm over his shoulder, and we walked out of the school to Canada's car. I pretended to trip, and he gasped and tried to catch me before he realized it was a joke, then he started laughing. I laughed too. It felt good to laugh with someone else, especially when you loved that person and (hopefully) they loved you.

After a few minutes in the car, we arrived at Canada's (and by extension, America's) house. It was mid-sized, and a little bit larger than mine. He pulled into the driveway and stopped the car. "Nice house," I observed.
"Thanks," he said, a little embarrassed. "Shall we head in?" We both got out and he helped me walk to the door. Canada fumbled with his key ring, and after he unlocked it, we headed in.

The first thing I noticed was one of his brothers, probably Australia, running past the door with a large... something, I wasn't quite sure what species it was. Canada sidestepped the small country before he crashed into him. "Well," he said. "This is my crazy house. I chuckled and stepped past him. "So what do you want to do?" he said.
"Well, tell me about your siblings. We should at least pretend that's why I came here, after all." He laughed and... was it just me or did he blush?
"If you want to hear about all of them," he said, "you should probably take a seat, because we'll be here for quite a while."

Seven hours later, we had exhausted Canada's sibling stories, so we were lying on the couch together, watching a movie called The Sound of Music, one of my favorites. America had texted Canada to say that he would be staying for the night at a friend's, so I had texted Belarus that I would also be staying with a friend. I was getting tired, and was drowsy/brave enough to lay my head on Canada's chest. I could almost feel him blush, and I as well was blushing furiously.

After a while, we were almost done with the movie, I saw, because the Nazi soldiers were chasing the Von Trapps, and then the Third Reich was right there, and then I saw my father saying something to me that I couldn't make out, and then America came into the room, and he was holding a knife, so I looked at Dad to help, but he was gone, and I saw America getting closer and closer and closer—

And then I woke up, sobbing furiously on Canada's chest. I must have been showing signs of the nightmare for a while, because he was hugging and comforting me.
"Shhhh," he said. "It's okay." I was shaking like a leaf, because I kept replaying the events of the nightmare in my head. Eventually, though, I calmed down, mostly because Canada was hugging and whispering things to me. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Bad dream?" I nodded.
"I-it just sucks that every time we see each other, I'm always crying." He laughed, and I think that made me feel better, because a few minutes later, we were both asleep, my head resting on his chest and his arms around me.

~Sorry to all the people who haven't watched the Sound of Music. Also, Ukraine is right. Every time her and Canada meet, she's crying. Don't worry, my loyal readers. This will change. Also, thanks for all the reads and votes, it really means a lot to me! Special thanks to NopeMcNopey and LynxProgram for all their support!~

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