Alone In A Crowded Room

Matthew’s hand had actually become rather numb. Ivan was leading him through the parking lot, probably to his car. Matthew couldn’t help being nervous. Ivan wasn’t even trying to hide. Anyone could just see him wandering around.

Matthew realized that this was probably a stupid thought. Who would try to stop Ivan even if they were to see him? On the same note if something went horribly wrong today he was all on his own. Not even Alfred could come and save him. Because good little heroes never skipped out on class.

Matthew counted his blessing when they finally got to Ivan’s car. He might regain feeling in his hand sometime soon. Matthew fell into the passenger seat. It was pretty comfortable. He sat in silence with Ivan. It left one question unanswered.

What the hell do you do when you skip a class?

But Ivan was just sitting there, a wide smile on his face. His eyes were closed in mirth, but his face was still facing in Matthew’s direction. Matthew was starting to feel a little nervous because it seemed the decision was up to him. What kind of things are jocks interested in?

Matthew tried thinking of the things that Alfred liked. Alfred liked. MacDonald’s, Horror movies, and probably bowling. All of these things did not seem like things that Ivan would like. That was kind of a blessing, but... It left him completely aimless. He had never been given the opportunity to choose. What kind of things did Matthew like?

“Do...? Do you want to go to the mall or something?” Matthew asked uncertainly. He never really did anything like that.

He had no idea what places were open in the middle of the day like this. That wouldn’t give them a hard time because… Oh yeah. That wouldn’t happen. He’s the invisible boy, and Ivan’s the scary Russian. Ivan didn’t even get in trouble when they found a pipe in his locker.

“Da, sound like fun,” Ivan quickly turned on the car. Matthew was a little nervous, because he wasn’t quite sure how closely Ivan was paying attention.

It was at this moment that Matthew was truly happy that his parents both worked nine-to-five jobs. There was no way that he’d run into them at the mall. Though there was a good chance that he could just hide behind Ivan and no one would even notice that he was there.

He knew that he would’ve been a lot more nervous at Ivan’s driving style if he hadn’t once accepted a ride from Feliciano Vargas. Matthew had to admit. This was a really nice car. And Ivan wasn’t particularly bad company. He just... Matthew looked over at the smiling maniac... He just wasn’t very good company.

Matthew took a quick gasp of air when Ivan went to park. He had almost swiped this blue minivan. This didn’t really seem to bother him. Matthew sighed. He should’ve just gone to class today. He shouldn’t be out here risking his life with the Russian who apparently can’t read basic street signs. What’s done is done. At least he’ll have one slightly interesting to tell. That is if he manages to survive today.

Ivan stared at Matthew, an odd look on his face. Matthew wouldn’t admit it, but it was really starting to freak him out. Oh, why couldn’t he have just listened to Yao? Ivan’s lip twitched slightly, and he quickly reached out. He roughly grabbed ahold of Matthew’s petite hand, and then merely continued staring forward as they made their way across the parking lot.

The thing that quite possibly freaked Matthew out the most was the small giggle that came from the Russian. Matthew decided to pretend that he didn’t hear it. Why the hell didn’t he listen to the little bit of good advice he got? Ivan was practically dislocating Matthew’s shoulder as he dragged him along. Matthew was thinking about buying an iron gauntlet to avoid the pain of holding hands with Ivan. But that wouldn’t help the shoulder pain.

Matthew knew that it was wrong as soon as he stepped foot in the mall. Matthew was horrible at being bad. He just wanted to run back to school and apologize. This was, of course, because he was a loser.

They just kind of wandering around for a while, silently. Ivan kind of looked like a child, taking in the sights for the first time. Then he just stopped and stared off into the distance. He lurched forward, dragging Matthew along for the ride.

“Matvey,” Ivan turned to look at the much smaller blonde, “Vould you like some?” he pointed at the ice cream stall. The Russian seemed to recall his brother saying that they both liked the treat.

Matthew’s eyes lit up. He didn’t really like letting someone else treat, but... He really wanted the ice cream... And there were 54 different flavors. He hasn’t yet tried them all... It was a personal goal for him.

Ivan watched mesmerized as he seemed to contemplate his next move. He watched as Matthew bit down on his lip. That cute little plump lip. Matthew let out a little sigh, “Okay! Yes! I mean, I’d really like that...”

Ivan didn’t really understand why it was such a hard decision for Matthew, but he was glad that he accepted his offer. He wasn’t sure why, but he really wanted to buy that Ice Cream for Matthew.

“Uh… The Chocolate Mousse Mint, please,” it was quite adorable how Matthew’s voice got so small. He got such a determined look on his face and waved his hand around a little. The woman behind the counter still didn’t seem to take notice of him.

It was starting to make Ivan really upset. He cleared his throat loudly to catch her attention. He turned around, startled, “Umm… How may I help you?” she asked Ivan nervously, completely ignoring Matthew.

Matthew looked rather defeated, and while that kind of excited Ivan it also made him angry. “My friend vas ordering,” he pointed towards Matthew.

Matthew was rather upset, and he didn’t appreciate Ivan pointing him out. He did appreciate the gesture behind it. Especially from someone who was so socially stunted.

Ivan just stared blankly at the menu for a moment before asking Matthew to order for him. Ivan never was very good at it. The cashiers could never understand through his accent. He normally had Yekaterina do it. She was patient. She also had the softest accent of the three siblings.

Matthew couldn’t help but feel a little odd. Ivan kept inching closer to him. Matthew himself was gay, but he didn’t really think that Ivan was. And he was pretty sure that straight guys didn’t sit that close to their friends. But what the hell did he know? It’s not like even if Ivan was gay that he’d be attracted to Matthew.

Matthew was actually starting to have fun. It seemed to foreign to him. Just as soon as he started smiling, it disappeared. A security guard was walking up to them with a rather serious look on his face. He fought the urge to shrink into Ivan.

“Shouldn’t you be in school?” He crossed his arms and gave the two a rather stern look.

“We’re both in college!” Matthew blurted out a little louder than was socially acceptable. He instantly regretted it.

“Sorry.” Ivan stood up and leaned a little closer to the security guard, “I didn’t think that it vas your job to keep kids in school. Is bad for business to kick out customers, da?” the tone of his voice got low and threatening.

Matthew looked at him and realized what lurked behind the surface. This was the reason that everyone was so afraid of Ivan. Matthew looked at him and actually felt kind of scared. This was when he realized that he was completely over his head. And there was no one left to save him.

A/N: A little shorter than normal I know. And I haven’t posted in a while, but I just had to post something for this story. I felt like I owed Onee-chan a chapter. <3 Oh, yes. Just in case you were wondering, I mentioned that Yekaterina's accent was lighter. This is because I think that Yekaterina would adjust quickest. Plus she had a cute, soft voice to begin with. I dunno. Personal opinion.