All is left is to ring the bell (fruk)

Et donc, la vie continue

One year later

"Alright, everyone! As the rumours continue to spread, I think it is best to confirm or deny finally!" Switzerland began, annoyed. He was hosting the meeting this year and finally had to smush or confirm the new rumour. Which isn't bad, but it would be interesting to see how it goes.

"So, it is true!" He spoke. There was a mixture of groans and cheers coming from the crowd. However, I could only give Arthur a side-eye. We got along normally now, but that was it. Nothing romantic!  He had given me this annoyed expression, and I could smile.

"The event will be held at the next world meeting...in...." He looked down at his papers, and I eagerly waited to hear who was hosting. "Greece! On one of his islands?" Switzerland looked toward him for clarification, and he shrugged. "Still figuring out if I want it to be in Thessaloniki or my island of Syros... I'm not sure," he answered.

"Right, well, once you figure that out, let us know; today, we are picking what to do. So, as you all may have heard, it was suggested by the NATO leaders that we should have an event to commemorate our history in the world. There were many options, but they thought the idea of a historical reenactment would be fun," Switzerland spoke. He looked annoyed, and so was mostly everyone.

Having a historical reenactment was a bad idea. We had to be careful with the topic we picked and to throw so much satire into it that it wouldn't be considered history. "Now! I know this is tough, but we have to choose an event! The good news is, we can make it completely satire to not get into the bad stuff," he added.

I looked over to Arthur again, and once he met my eyes, he lifted a brow. He looked at me, shaking his head slightly as if asking 'what'. He was a bit confused, but I could only smile. I stared at him intensely, causing him to stare back at me.

Kind of like a staring contest.

I wouldn't dare break the eye contact I had with him. Not only was it hilarious to see how annoyed I made him, but this was the only other way I could take in his existence. As he stared at me with an intense and annoyed stare, I could only look at the colour of his eyes. The green of his iris took me back to the forest when we were younger.

"Now, whatever is chosen, no hard feelings! We will all come together to ensure this play is the funniest ever....hopefully..." he spoke. He pulled a bowl from under his podium, making me notice how nervous everyone got. Despite most things happening a long time ago, we sometimes don't like bringing up the past.

"Well...I'll be damned, it's the year 1942...do what you'd like with that; we just have to do something small for this first one," he added. Everyone grew horrified at the year, and I felt my stomach sinking. WHY? Why did they think this was a good idea?

"Can I request not to participate?" Mr. Italy spoke. Everyone looked at him, worried, and many agreed. As I stared at different people, it was as if I could see the war flashbacks in their eyes.

1942...

That was around when Germany invaded me, and I was...captive and on the run for some time.

I don't see any way to make that funny or silly. It was terrible. How were we supposed to do this?

The commotion began, and people began discussing what we could do. However, everyone was stuck. There was no way to see any funny side to this.

I looked at Arthur, and his face dropped. He began to stare off, and I don't know...I could only imagine the things he was remembering right now. I'm sure it wasn't any good. He went through a lot during that time. He was alone and did much of the fighting.

"NO WORRIES, EVERYONE! I have a perfect idea that would satisfy our leaders! I just need Mr England and Mr Canada! Leave it to me to bring killer entertainment!" Alfred cheered. Everyone stopped talking as he spoke. He gave everyone a thumbs up in reassurance, which seemed to work.

"Really? You want to take over? Are the two of you okay with participating?" Switzerland asked. He looked at Arthur and Matthew, and they both looked disturbed. "Well...I suppose I have no other choice. Hopefully, next time this means I get to opt out?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, you don't have to do it the next time...don't worry," Germany interrupted, so he could reassure Arthur. I never knew much about what happened while I was gone, but I always assumed it was terrible. All I knew of were the broadcasts and what the boys and Arthur told me, which wasn't much.

"Okay then, that is settled. You have a year till then, so don't stress about it. We all know that year can be hard to make a satire about," Germany added. Everyone agreed. However, Alfred looked determined. If he was working on it, I'm sure he'd find ways to make jokes out of everything. What surprised me was how he only needed Arthur and Matthew. It seems to me that he has something in mind already. I wonder what that could be.

The meeting continued, but I only wanted it to end soon.

And then, once it did, I didn't waste time.

I stood from my seat quickly and rushed toward Arthur. He was patting his paperwork against the table to organize it, which was cute in a weird way.

"Hey, can we talk today? Privately?" I asked. He looked at me, confused, but it didn't bother me much. I mainly wanted to ask how he was feeling about the entire thing. The past few years were odd. It felt like he was going through a weird depression, but he never talked to me about it. Then, of course, it was hard for me to ask. I wasn't sure how else to bring it up or comfort him when he always shut me out.

"Oh, sure..."

"Great, I'll be at your place tonight; just a heads up!"

"What? Tonight? Won't you go home first?"

"No, I'll get a hotel at your place and see you then; I just wanted to warn you for once," I spoke. He nodded at me, looking worried, but I didn't pay it mind. I just wanted to talk about his feelings and understand him more.