Chapter Text
The neon visuals of a video game lasted into Arthur Kirkland’s pupils. His Twitch chat cheered him on in his conquest. As he played, time rapidly flew by. Before anyone knew it, the time was already 3:43 in the morning! People started to leave, as it had been six hours of this shit. Eventually, even Arthur grew exhausted from the grind. The bags under his eyes deepened to an eerie shade of purple, his fingers slowed, and yawns came more frequently. Eventually, the ambitious Arthur decided to throw in the towel.
“Goodnight! I have school in five hours, so I’m going to head out, have a nice day! Au revoir!” The streamer quickly shut down his live stream and logged out of his favourite video game. A strained sigh escaped the man’s chapped lips. He slumped into his chair, absolutely drained. Finally, Arthur stumbled onto his quivering legs and limped towards his bed like the feeble man he was. He didn’t bother to shut down his computer. Arthur simply allowed the blinding lights to die as the night pushed through.
Rays of sunshine swam into his untidy bedroom. The warm glow trickled through Arthur’s closed eyelids. Gradually, his pupils adjusted to the blinding gleam, finally waking up from his slumber. Speckles of dust illuminated by the early morning light look like dancing glitter. The blankets slipped off as he threw his aching legs onto the hardwood floor. Freezing needles of discomfort ran through his feet.
He stumbled towards the absolute hellish state of his room. What the hell was the time? Arthur scanned the various clothes left astray from his prior laziness, looking for his old alarm clock. After clawing his way into the absolute disarray, his fingers latched onto a rumbling object. Cold to the touch of his newly awoken fingers.
“There you are, you little devil-” He mumbled under his breath, his body squirming to grasp onto the piece of junk. After a painfully long struggle of trial and error, his eyes finally focused on the blurry symbols. Time seemed to slow down, only broken by the clicking of the clock. It was 7:42 in the morning. He shook when his brain processed the string of numbers, shivering partially because of the cold and partly because of his pure idiocy. SHIT.
His thoughts ran faster than he could understand, a stream of anxiety through his mind. He had to prepare for school in time. Or else he would be apprehended, taking his clean streak of behaviour and grades down with him. He threw on some pants, a pair of white stockings, and his lucky choker. It was pitch-black with a yarn pattern running up his neck, resembling old Victorian fashion. It was his brother’s once, but that time was long since over. Perhaps it made Arthur feel closer to him, or maybe, to death. Arthur shook off the thought as quickly as it came.
***
His brain raced him through the rusty and dingy apartment.
The microwave beeped for a few seconds before Arthur could rush to turn it off. Pot Noodle smacked his lips as he slurped it down eagerly, though it was barely warm. Arthur Kirkland was broke. His wallet consisted of a few coins from around the globe, his credit card was drained dry, and his student debt was high. Partly because he was naturally shit at handling money, something Francis constantly nagged him over...
Before fully processing everything, he was sprinting down the street. He approached the nearest train station, causing him to pant rapidly. His sweat swam down his temple, flowing into the crevices of his face. The droplets hung onto his dark eyelashes before evidently falling to their demise. With a leather satchel riding his hip, Arthur dashed onto the trolley.
There, he was shocked to meet some familiar faces. He could easily perceive Gilbert, Roderich, Yao, João, and Kiku. Some blonde boy sat in the corner, hyperventilating, wrapping his arms around a stuffed polar bear. He knew he knew him from somewhere. Shrugging it off, the discombobulated boy took a seat beside Yao.
Arthur sighed in relief, noticing that Yao had paid no mind to his existence. Rumbling followed suit, shaking everyone aboard. Thankfully, nobody seemed to be fazed by his dishevelled self, or they simply didn’t care. His eyes searched the people around him, deep in thought. Kiku was reading a book labelled No Longer Human with headphones over his ears. João was in a heavy nap, drooling and all. Two seats over; where Roderich comfortably sat, a sleek laptop in his lap, typing away. Gilbert fiddled his deep brown hair, silently watching Roderich’s blinding screen. Yao was scrolling through Reddit , arguing with other losers online. Thank heavens, nobody cared that he was there, not that it was unusual for him.
Kirkland’s fingers fiddled around in his felt sweater’s pockets, seeking his phone with minimal thoughts on why. Eventually, the brit gripped the sleek cell phone, yanking it from his pockets and quickly checking his email. Yao’s silky dark hair grazed his shoulder as he directed his attention to the hot mess beside him. Wang Yao was a level-headed boy. He was calm, mature, understanding, intelligent, and pretty. He wore a simple sweater, an overcoat slipped on loosely, high-waisted brown trousers, and laced dress shoes. Lengthy hair draped over his shoulders like curtains. He was everything that Arthur Kirkland wanted to be. More than anything, he just wanted to be friends with the guy. Yao was his biggest inspiration to succeed, even if they weren’t on the best terms.
“Do you need something?” Wang finally spoke, a touch of irritation in his voice. Arthur froze. Had he been looking at him this whole time? The sweat from before quickly took its usual place. Anxiety built up inside his head. Arthur’s phone slipped from his fingers. It flew from his palm, landing on the musty floor beneath the two. Before he could process anything that had just occurred, Yao’s slender fingers gently picked up his cell phone. “Oh-, uh sorry… I totally just spaced out there! Oh, and thanks.” With a mind running faster than his mouth, he chuckled to ease the awkward silence between them.
“Sorry if I startled you; I just wanted to see if you were okay. Lovely to see you doing well.” Yao’s words caressed Arthur’s anxiety, eliminating his distress like a cool stream. He shifted closer to the British boy, fingers ruffling his blonde hair and eyes glowing ever so majestic. “Huh-” Arthur’s olive eyes glanced towards Yao’s.