Hetalia One-Shots

The Interview - Part One

((A/N Is this something I'm writing for myself that I don't think many people will relate to? Yes! Did I write it anyways? Also yes!

Just to let you know that I won't be sticking to canon! Then again, when do I lol. Just don't get confused if something is different than canon is. Also, I will be doing some POV changes/flashing back to the past that will be marked with three asterisks (***). Just explaining beforehand so it makes sense when you see it.))

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James Carmen sat in his parked car, hands gripping the steering wheel. He took a deep breath and glanced towards the papers and tape recorder in the passenger seat beside him. Just looking at them made his stomach churn- this was the most nervous he had ever felt before an interview. It made sense that he was nervous, though. This was the biggest interview of his entire life and he was about to absolutely blow it.

The whole world seemed to weigh down on his shoulders at the moment. He chuckled at the thought, considering the nature of this particular interview.

Several years ago, information had come to light that the very countries humans lived in had human personifications, in a sense. This had apparently been a thing since the dawn of civilization but only a select few knew of these human countries. Mainly high ranking government officials. Of course, some regular humans were aware of them- but compared to the countries, their lifespan was nothing, and their secrets were lost to the grave over and over again.

Barely anything was known about the countries. Most still had no idea how they even looked. Interview after interview had been denied by them and their respective governments. Then finally, by a stroke of luck, several countries agreed to an interview... with two simple rules. The first rule was that the interview was to be conducted by one individual with only a pen, paper, and an audio recording device. The second condition was that only one question could be asked.

Somehow, James had been chosen as the lucky interviewer... and he didn't even know the damn question he was going to ask. He had gone through a giant list of questions over the course of several months while planning and had reduced it to three options. Unfortunately, he couldn't bring himself to choose just one. What kind of assholes make an interviewer choose one question?

With trembling hands and a pumping heart, James turned off his car and gathered his things. He glanced down at the paper with the questions scribbled at the top. There was one that he had circled... but his boss had told him that it was a stupid question- well, in a nicer manner than that, but still. For some reason though, James still felt an attachment to the question. It didn't seem like much, but to him, the answer could tell a whole story.

He stepped out of the car and headed towards the building. It looked quite official, yet oddly deserted. Several cars littered the parking lot- mainly rentals, aside for one shimmering black Cadillac Coupe de Ville. James stopped beside it and whistled. He had never been a car guy, but he could recognize a classic fifties beauty when he saw one. It must've cost the owner a fortune.

As he approached the building, the pounding of his heart grew louder. An eerie silence filled the still summer air. To be honest, he had expected some sort of armed men in black to escort him here... maybe to stand guard at the door. The building did look official enough, yet nothing marked it to give away what it was for.

For a moment, James stopped in front of the doors. One last deep breath, and then...

He pulled the door open and stepped inside, a blast of chilled air clashing with the heat outside. James took in the sight in front of him- Oh, damn. He was just in some sort of entry between the outside and the lobby. What was the point of this? There were no chairs, no security, nothing. Just more doors.