Eight Mortal Secrets [Hetalia Drabbles] (Completed, to be Edited)

VII. Her Façade

Alfred pulled up to the street, parking in front of the little yellow house. In the past, he wouldn't have given this house- or even this neighborhood- a single glance. Now he checked his hair in the mirror and straightened his glasses on his face, making sure he looked nice in case he saw one of Shelby's parents. Specifically, her father. He was pretty scary.

He jumped out of the car, striding to the door and knocking in a simple beat. He heard a few muffled voices speak before the door opened for him, revealing Shelby's mother. Alfred felt his muscles relax, although he hadn't remembered them being stiff in the first place.

He flashed a bright smile. "'Sup, Kristy?" He asked as she moved aside, allowing him to enter. He was rather comfortable with Shelby's mother. Still, he had to watch what he said somewhat- Shelby had forbid him from revealing the fact that he was a country to any of her family members. He had agreed it was probably for the better.

"Nothing much, just trying to get this house together before we're out all night at the Howell game. Are you coming? Shelby's playing Varsity." Her mother said, closing the door behind her.

"I'd come even if she was playing JV. How was her testing?" He asked, kicking off his shoes at the door. He took a deep breath, inhaling the cinnamon scent from the candle wax Shelby's mom always had burning. It reminded him of apple pie.

"She said it was okay. She's in her room if you wanna ask her yourself." Kristy explained. "Just makes sure you two come out before Mike gets home. You know how he gets about you two being alone." She laughed.

Alfred laughed awkwardly, although he shivered slightly at the thought. "Yeah. He's... yeah." He trailed off, deciding it was better not to continue that sentence. Instead, he made his way down the hall, knocking on Shelby's door.

"Knock-ity, knock-ity, knock! Guess who?" He sang from behind the wood.

"Hmm... Theo James?" A voice asked on the other side. It was Shelby's, but... not her's. It was off slightly. He could tell.

"Ha! You wish!" Alfred stated, swinging the door open dramatically. Shelby sat cross-legged on her bed, her physics book opened in front of her, and a notebook on her thigh. America couldn't help but note the fact that Shelby had a small smile on her face, as well as a red nose and puffy eyes. His smile faltered slightly.

She gave a forced laugh, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I do wish. He would probably be far less obnoxious." She teased, but the words weren't harsh like usual. It was almost as if her voice itself had a mask.

"Hey, are you okay, bro?" He questioned, carefully taking a seat on her bed. She eyed him critically, something he found hilarious. She was so weird about certain things, and if Alfred- or anyone else, for that matter- moved her bed from the wall or pulled the sheets too much, she would make them get up and fix it. "Was your test bad or something?" When she shook her head, he continued pressing. "So, what is it, then?"

She frowned. "There's nothing wrong." She stated, but her eyes trailed to her book, and her voice was high-pitched and forceful.

She was lying.

He pursed his lips, trying to figure out how to approach this. Shelby wasn't receptive to any personal conversations and got increasingly defensive whenever she was questioned, but America would feel pretty crappy if he let her sit there all sad because he let her lie him.

"Yeah, and England doesn't burn scrambled eggs to the pan." America joked, carefully scooting closer to her. "Seriously, Shelbs, what's wrong?"

Alfred swore for a second, he saw her tremble. Her lip quivered, she took a broken breath, and she began cracking her fingers. "I'm fine." She stated sternly, her eyes still staring at the physics book.

America frowned. "Why do you always do that, dude? You act like you don't have emotions or something. I don't get it. I'm still trying to relearn this whole 'human friendship' thing, but I'm pretty sure friends tell friends what's bothering them.

Shelby's face looked down to her legs now, her hair falling in like a curtain around her cheeks, as if trying to form a barrier. But Alfred saw her expression contort as if she was in pain. It was almost like a flinch; she cringed and gritted her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut as she attempted to calm herself.

The guilt trip was working, so he kept with it. "I thought we were friends. Shouldn't we tell each what's up when the other's feeling crappy?" He asked.

Finally, a sob broke from Shelby's lips, and she covered her mouth in alarm, but the façade was impossible to recover once it was lost. Her face turned red and she brought up her legs, hiding her face behind her knees. Her shoulders shook as another cry raked her body. Alfred moved her homework out if the way and slowly moved next to her. He kept his motions careful, fearful that if he got too close to her too quickly she would try and hide her emotions again and pretend she didn't need his help.

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a gentle hug, placing his head on the top of her's.

"Do-" She began to speak, but her voice cracked, and she had to start her sentence over, "do you ever miss someone so much that your chest hurts? Like- like part of your heart is missing?" She asked quietly.

America glanced down. She was looking up at him, her pale blue eyes now glossy from her tears. Her jaw was clenched tightly, trying to hold back any more crying.

"Sometimes." He admitted. "I try to only think about the present or the future. But sometimes... yeah, I guess I do get like that."

Her gaze changed from him to the wall. "That's what I feel like whenever I remember my dog. I'll wake up from dreams about her, and my chest aches when I realize I don't get to see her until my next dream." She whispered, a fresh stream of tears falling down her face. "I would do anything to have her back."

Alfred raised a brow. "Anything?"

"Anything. I've never loved anything more in my entire life." She explained.

"You loved her more than Michelangelo?" He teased lightly.

"He doesn't even come close." She muttered.

Alfred wiped a few of her tears away with his thumb, something Shelby flinched from initially, but then gave into. "Is that what you were sad about before I came in?" He wondered.

"Yeah. I was thinking about her. I do that a lot."

"Then why didn't you go to your mom or something?" He asked in confusion.

She took a deep breath. "I don't like crying in front of other people. It's demeaning." She admitted, her face flushing slightly.

"What? No! It's, like, completely natural to cry over something sad! You miss her! You want her back. That's okay to cry about, dude." He assured her with a smile.

She glanced up at him, before a gentle smile tugged on her lips as well. "Thanks, Al." She muttered.

This time, Shelby was the one to hug him.