I'd take a blizzard over this party (Antonio&Francis)

[Deleted]

Gilbert rubbed at his watering eye helplessly. Parties sucked. Rich people sucked. His parents sucked, but that wasn't news. Ludwig better understand how lucky he was that Gilbert loved him so much. Only for Ludwig would Gilbert put up with this stupid get up and attend this stupid 'dinner party' where they had to wait hours until they actually got any real food.

This eleven-year-old was not a patient one. He was accustomed to cooking his own meals, which meant following the schedule his stomach dictated. If he felt hungry, he ate, and that was life as Gilbert knew it. If he were at home, he would be enjoying his time eating some of the food his parents kept 'hidden' from him while watching the television banned from his use. That was how he always spent his time when his parents ran off to these stupid functions, dragging poor Ludwig along. But they had started dragging Gilbert along as well. Not to imply in the slightest that they wanted their freak of nature son to be seen with them in any manner, but he was their last resort.

They attended these parties in hopes of getting Ludwig in with the right people's kids. Only problem was, Ludwig was a tough cookie to break and couldn't socialize for crap. How it took them this long to figure it out was beyond Gilbert. Of course, probably had to do with the fact that Ludwig rarely talked, let alone share his thoughts with anyone other than his favorite big brother. Which led to Gilbert getting dragged into these ridiculous posh events. He was to act as a mediator between Ludwig and other kids to get them warmed up to Ludwig's quiet personality. Honestly, it wasn't that hard of a job. It meant he could brag and gush about his perfect little brother all he wanted. The kids that had older siblings took pity on Ludwig and did make more of an effort to talk with him, expecting him to need comfort for being embarrassed so thoroughly by his big brother. But hey, at least Ludwig knew all of the embarrassment he felt was only because Gilbert loved him the most.

Since the kids had started being a little more accepting of Ludwig, Gilbert didn't feel all too guilty about slipping away once the conversation started getting into the academics. Trust Ludwig to fit in with a bunch of smart rich kids. Gilbert was not cut out for this kind of world. These rich families raised their children much the same way Ludwig was being raised with strict schedules and intense schooling to create the 'perfect' child. Perfect was the furthest possible adjective to describe Gilbert.

He had no discipline, since he was left to his own devices the moment he was old enough to take care of himself. He could hardly be called intelligent, since school for him was just a way to pass the time outside of the house. He could care less about his grades or his future. It wasn't as if anyone had any expectations about him. And, of course, who could possibly forget the least perfect part about Gilbert? From the moment he entered this world he was flawed with his unnatural red eyes, pale skin and hair. Just one look at him was enough to label him as flawed.

School, while an escape from the house, was not an escape from the fact he was imperfect. Everyone knew about the existence of inferior mutants. Everyone knew you could look at most mutants and see their flaws that would give them away. Gilbert had all the looks of a mutant, but no one seemed to believe him when he swore up and down that the doctors said albinism was a condition that existed even hundreds of years ago before mutants were even a thing. Of course, it was hard to convince his classmates when he had a hard time believing that too.

It was due to his flawed appearance that his parents didn't want him around at these parties. They wanted to give off the appearance of complete perfection. It was hard to make his complexion normal and he refused to let them get near his hair, but they were able to force on him some colored contacts. Colored contacts were such a simple solution to his problem, weren't they? Just make his red eyes disappear and suddenly his freak factor went down by more than half. He would wear them all the time if it weren't for the fact his eyes simply could not handle them.

His eyes were sensitive. No one knew that fact better than Gilbert, well no one cared about that fact other than him and his brother. He had tried prescription contacts a couple of years back because his teacher realized one reason he was struggling in class was because he couldn't see. The optometrist told him his struggling eyes were a side effect of his albinism. Just another thing to love about it. We was given the choice of trying contacts or going with glasses. Of course like any self-conscious boy, Gilbert tried to go without glasses. If only contacts had worked, then he could have clear vision all the time. It wasn't like he was going to be a glasses nerd. Nope, he just put them on when he had to read.

Contacts made his eyes sting and itch like nobody's business. Colored contacts were even worse. They put a ring of color on the edge of his vision and gave him a headache. If only he had the contact case, but his parents kept that on them. After the first party he attended, where he took his contacts out after not even an hour because they hurt so much, his wonderful parental units kept the contact case with them so Gilbert would be forced to keep the contacts in. Gilbert rarely listened to them, but even he wouldn't risk their wrath by throwing out the hell-tacts.

So he was stuck trying to get his headache down before he was forced back out into the bright rooms and chattering voices. The dark tended to help, so he found himself a relatively empty sitting room and turned the light switch off. He curled up behind a couch, placing his throbbing head between his knees as he sniffled. Satan had to have been the one to create these torture devices called contacts, there was no other explanation for it. Hopefully Ludwig wouldn't notice his absence for a while…

Words: 1095

Tags: Antonio F. Carriedo; @mona

made by MISSO on IOF

[Antonio F. Carriedo]

He was in the clear.

He was totally in the clear.

… Right?

Antonio peered around the corner for the fourth time, still seeing no one with the exception of the young cooking assistant that was just listening to music with his eyes closed in the corner. If he put this off anymore he could get caught! It’d be a bit of a bummer for his mom and dad to be mad at him and not even get anything out of it.

The basket of muffins was right along the edge. Practically overflowing, they wouldn’t notice if he took just one. That side of the island counter was facing away from the assistant, so even if he did open his eyes for the first time in the past fifteen minutes, if Antonio ran fast and quiet enough he wouldn’t see him. Besides-then he wouldn’t eat as much later at the actual meal so it would be a tradeoff and everything would be fine. Right? Right.

One, two-, “tres!” The boy ‘exclaim-whispered’ as quietly as he could-slipping in around the corner, behind the cart, along the counter, and out the door with his prize.

Antonio seemed completely Steve-free walking down the hall grinning and inspecting his haul. Blueberry-good, very good. This could certainly hold him over until dinner was served. Why did he ever think holding off on lunch would be smart, even if he knew this family always had especially good cooks? He should’ve remembered that he wouldn’t get to eat right away!

“ … salad forks…”

He froze. Down the hallway he heard faint voices and footsteps. Were they heading his way, or would they turn before then? They could totally-

“We might have to remake… that idiot can’t even…”

They were getting clearer…

“Uhm-uhm-uhm!” What to do, what to do. Seeing no other method of escape, Antonio slipped into a nearby room and closed the door behind him, immediately plunging himself into complete darkness. Well at least he hadn’t run right into an occupied sitting room or anything. That was a real stroke of luck. He even let out a relieved sigh and some light giggles. An extra Hail Mary that night and he was sure it would be perfectly fine.

Mid-prayer another sound reached his ears. Was that… crying? Small sniffles from somewhere in the room, breaking the otherwise relative silence. His eyes had yet to become accustomed enough to the dark to try and find the source of the noise. But even then, why would there be crying in a dark, empty room of such a big house…

Dios mío… Antonio had gotten himself into a haunted old room running away from stealing food. He was already being punished! He shivered, biting his lip when he heard more. What were you supposed to do about ghosts, pray? Throw around holy water? But he didn’t have any… The people who owned this place should’ve said their house was haunted! Like, listed it right in the invitation. Just below the time.

‘Arrival time is four in the afternoon.
Guests will receive the experience of food, boring conversation, and ghosts.’

“I’ll leave in just a minute, Mr. Ghost, I promise!” He finally said, voice quick and wary. "You can go back to all your ghosty-stuff! Whatever... that is. Playing ghost football or ghost boardgames."

Words: 564

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made by MISSO for use only by BECCA

[Deleted]

People passed the doors periodically, but no one came into Gilbert's refuge. Which was good, because god his headache was not going away fast enough. He really wanted to go back to Ludwig's side and make sure he was doing okay, but it really wasn't possible to venture out with his head splitting in two like this. Not to mention his stomach was grumbling with hungry. This was his body in a head-on attack from all sides against him. Oh cruel world what did he do to deserve this.

The door creaked open, then closed just as quickly. Voices passed in the hall and all was silent again, except for Gilbert's periodic sniffs. Wait a second, the door had opened. Did someone come in? Gilbert covered his mouth and nose with his hands, trying to silence himself. Damn had he been found out? He really did not want to have to deal with people right now. But, no one was turning on the light so he was okay, right? Someone had opened the door, saw the room was dark, and went back out to the hall. If someone had come in, they would have turned on the lights, right?

"I’ll leave in just a minute, Mr. Ghost, I promise!" A voice called into the room. Gilbert had to bite back a yelp of surprise. Damn, he thought he was alone! Wait. Ghost? "You can go back to all your ghosty-stuff! Whatever... that is. Playing ghost football or ghost boardgames."

Hold up. What kind of idiot automatically assumed there was a ghost in the room? Wouldn’t the logical assumption be: hey there’s some sniffling in this dark room, I bet someone is crying and try to not be seen. Not that Gilbert was in here to cry. The crying was a side effect of the whole painful eyes and head thing. Gilbert Beilschmidt didn’t cry like a baby, thank you very much. But even more important, he wasn’t a ghost!

“I’m not a ghost!” Gilbert exclaimed, jumping to his feet from behind the couch. Not that he was a very convincing ‘not ghost’ with his freakishly pale skin and white hair. He realized his mistake, popping out with his appearance with someone stupid enough to even believe in ghosts. This probably wasn’t going to end well.

Although he would rather artificial light than sunlight, but the curtains covering the windows were closer to him. So he raced to the curtains and pulled them back to fill the room with light. God that hurt. He bit back a groan and squeezed his eyes shut, which only made the contacts hurt all the more. “I’m not a ghost,” he repeated through clenched teeth.

Words: 451

Tags: Antonio F. Carriedo;

made by MISSO on IOF

[Antonio F. Carriedo]

I’m not a ghost-yeah, right, that’s what a ghost would say. That’s when they ring their chains at you and make creepy sounds. Though… why would a ghost have chains? That never did make much sense to him. Especially one in this nice house. Maybe it was a lot of big jewelry, like some of the old ladies liked to wear that made them jingle every time they moved… But the voice really didn’t sound much like an old woman. He’d heard movement but-was fairly certain the flash of white he saw was either most definitely a ghost, or some play on his imagination. It wasn’t until there was light that Antonio could even make out the details of the shape beyond a blur of color.

After he’d blinked away the momentary blindness from the sudden shift in lighting Antonio looked over to-well, the not-ghost. He stared at him shortly, tilting his head. Oh, so it was just another kid that’d snuck in here. Although his hair was pretty weird, and he was so white. He guessed some of those more central or western Europeans could be pretty pale.

Antonio walked over, staring in intense curiosity. He reached up, fingered some strands of the white hair, before he grinned and laughed. “Oh wow it is real! That’s so cool!” Who knew, he could’ve worn a wig. He was pretty sure he’d seen pictures in his textbooks of old guys that wore white wigs, for whatever reason. Maybe they just wanted to look older and smarter. And who could blame a kid for wanting to look a little older than he was? Antonio knew his parents had asked him to dress well enough to give off an air of maturity. White dress shirt and red vest, nice shoes. A maid had really worked at pulling out the faint curl to his dark hair, but… that had been given up on, much like every other instance in which they tried to tame it. It gave him a cute look anyway, she’d huffed. Kids were supposed to look cute, not like mini-adults.

And hey-this one was pretty cute! Neat white hair and cheeks a little red, probably because he’d been rubbing at them, but all the same. Even if he was shutting his eyes so tight, he was cute. Hey, there were close so tight maybe that’s why his cheeks were red. That must hurt. Antonio tilted his head and leaned in close. “Hey, why’re you keeping your eyes closed Mr. Not-A-Ghost? Did you see something scary? Did you get in some dust?” He looked around. The room seemed clean enough. There shouldn’t be enough dust to make him have allergies that bad…

He gasped-“were you running away too?” Maybe he'd gotten scared like he did!

Words: 480

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made by MISSO for use only by BECCA

[Deleted]

Through squinted eyes and blurry vision, Gilbert could see the other kid seemed to be around his age. That was there the similarities ended. Where Gilbert was pale, this boy was tan. Remarkably tan for someone in this desolate city. But that was all Gilbert could assess before the light got too painful again and he had to squeeze his eyes shut once more. The boy approached Gilbert and he could feel his hand reaching for him. He flinched, but the boy only touched his hair and laughed. "Oh wow it is real! That's so cool!"

Cool? His hair? Really? That was the first time he ever heard someone describe it that way. Everyone always called it weird or gross. Made it an excuse to tease him and ignore him. He was the weird kid with grandpa hair. But this kid thought it was cool. Him! Cool! If it wasn't for the piercing pain in his head, Gilbert would beam a giant smile and get more compliments from this kid. Cool!

"Hey, why're you keeping your eyes closed Mr. Not-A-Ghost? Did you see something scary? Did you get in some dust?" He paused and Gilbert was about to correct him. His name wasn't Mr. Not-A-Ghost, jeez. And no, he didn't see anything scary, it was just way too damn bright! But then the kid gasped, "were you running away too?"

Running away? What the heck was this guy running from? Ah forget this, Gilbert really wanted to hold a normal conversation. "It's too bright," he huffed, whirling around to shut the curtains again. He left a small enough crack so some light could stream in and they weren't in complete darkness.

Gilbert turned to face the other boy with teary eyes and a strained smile. "What were you running from, huh? Did you do something bad? Are you in trouble? Takes some guts doing something bad at some fancy powerful person's mansion, isn't it?" He snickered and turned away from the boy to flop on one of the couches, putting on a grin with confidence he didn’t really have. “Of course, I’m sure you’re from some fancy powerful family too, so maybe you’re some rebel child. Oh I bet your parents would be real mad if they found out you were running away from doing something bad.”

He would have loved to continue teasing this kid, but then a stab of pain ran through his head. God it hurt. Groaning, Gilbert flopped over on his side, clutching his head in his hands. At least this was the perfect opportunity to strike up a deal. “Promise I won’t snitch on you if you don’t snitch on me hiding in here.”

Words: 450

Tags: Antonio F. Carriedo;

made by MISSO on IOF

[Antonio F. Carriedo]

As the other talked and moved about Antonio watched him, wearing a blank, mildly curious expression while taking it in. Too bright? He looked over at the crack of light coming in now. It was only mid-afternoon sunlight… Hardly as bad as it could be at dead noon. Man, these other European kids must not get much sun at all where they’re from if they find it that bad. Antonio almost felt sorry for him. How could you play a good game of football if just this much sun made you wince? No wonder he was so pale!

Done something bad… oh, well he had just asked if he was running away too. That may not have been the best choice of words. Although he was ready to give an indignant cry about his parents being that mad at him if they found out. Sure they’d scold him, but they wouldn’t be too mean! Heck he bet his mom would just shake her head at him and his dad would apologize to the owners and turn it into some kind of joke, laughing it off. They were a good mom and dad like that!

“I didn’t do anything bad!” Okay, that was a lie. A bit. “Well-nothing that bad. I just took a little food from the kitchen ‘cause I’m hungry. But it would’ve gotten eaten later anyway, right? So not bad. Maybe half-bad, bad.” He explained, shrugging it off.

Moving around the back of it, Antonio then plopped himself down beside the other boy. He laughed, “I guess I still won’t tell on you either. It’s only fair.” That was when he looked over at him in a grin and noticed that he appeared to be in pain. He turned over his shoulder to look back at the window. It was too far away and too faint to be making him look that bad now! Unless he was that sensitive… He’d look like he’d been crying too.

Oh right! When he’d entered before, Antonio had heard crying. Then… that must have been from this guy! He frowned now and tilted his head. But why? He shifted down onto the floor and knelt in front of the other, peeing close in at his face. Yeah, definitely looked like he was in pain. Maybe a headache? Oh, or he ran head first into something! Antonio had done that before, plenty of times! That said, he’d always gotten out of it with a fair sized bruise or lump on his forehead. The Spanish child reached to poke at a piece of forehead void of white hair. No, no lump.

“Are you okay? You don’t look so good… Are you feeling sick or something?” A bit of a frown, “do you want a cold cloth? That’s what we normally do when someone’s sick-I’m sure I could find something like that!”

Words: 493

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made by MISSO for use only by BECCA

[Deleted]

Now that he was lying down and the light was bearable, Gilbert could open his eyes without wanting to cry. Jeez, this kid had to be outside all the damn time on top of having a naturally dark complexion. His eyes were so pretty and stood out in contrast to his dark curls and sun kissed skin. Gilbert bet he never had to worry about wearing painful contacts to hide his eye color. This kid probably got pinched on the cheek by all the old rich hags and got cooed at about how cute and precious he was. Not that Gilbert was jealous or anything. It was just an observation, that's all.

“I didn’t do anything bad! Well-nothing that bad. I just took a little food from the kitchen ‘cause I’m hungry. But it would’ve gotten eaten later anyway, right? So not bad. Maybe half-bad, bad.”

Gilbert perked up at the mention of food. This guy stole some food? Okay, all ill thoughts about him were completely banished now. He knew where some food was. He could probably hook Gilbert up with some food. Just thinking about food made him even hungrier and his mouth water. The couch bounced as the boy sat next to him with a laugh. "I guess I still won't tell on you either. It's only fair."

He nodded in agreement with the whole fairness thing, but the boy's stare made him feel a tad uncomfortable. Food was forgotten momentarily as Gilbert squirmed uncertainly. Why was this guy staring at him so intently… and then at the window… and then back at him… The boy slid to the ground and knelt in front of Gilbert, staring even more intensely at him. Gilbert couldn't help but flinch again when he raised his hand to poke his forehead. He really needed to stop flinching whenever others his age moved to touch him. It clued the bullies in to target him.

"Are you okay? You don’t look so good… Are you feeling sick or something? Do you want a cold cloth? That’s what we normally do when someone’s sick-I’m sure I could find something like that!”

His concern caught Gilbert off guard more than any random touches ever could. Gilbert sat up, feeling a tad exposed lying down while this boy crouched beside him. "No, I mean, I'm not sick or anything. I just have a headache because of my stupid contacts." Just the thought of them made them itch again. Annoyed, Gilbert stuck a finger in his eye to move the contact around, trying to get the moisture of his tears mixed in there. Brown swam in his vision and he had to blink a few times to get the contact back in place. "I was hoping the dark would help, it hasn't done much really."

Normally he was a guarded kid. No one at his school was ever nice to him, so he reused to put trust in any kids. They all sucked. Not like adults were much better, anyways. But, something about this smiling idiot that believed in ghosts made Gilbert want to somewhat trust him, maybe even like him. So he stuck out his hand. "I'm Gilbert, by the way."

Words: 536

Tags: Antonio F. Carriedo;

made by MISSO on IOF

[Antonio F. Carriedo]

It didn’t appear as if Antonio was offended by the shifting away from his touch, or even that it was noticed on his part. He simply stared up and listened, soon resting his elbow on his knee and his cheek in his hand. Contacts, huh? His mom wore those, although he didn’t think he’d ever heard her say they gave her headaches. Maybe because she was older and used to them. Antonio knew he wouldn’t like something poking his eye either.

Again, for some fraction of a moment or so, it seemed as if Antonio hadn’t even noticed Gilbert and his offered hand. He blinked, stared, completely blank. Was he-?

A bright, happy grin broke out across his face. The sort of giddy happiness that seemed more befitting at a birthday party or the winning of a game. But really Antonio was that happy, that excited! This was another kid his age that both wasn’t related to him and didn’t seem especially mature and boring, like the usual at these sorts of parties. Gilbert seemed so interesting! Laughing he reached his hand up to shake the one offered to him. “Nice to meet you, Gilbert! I’m Antonio.” And if he felt that slightest bit of an electric thrill when he shook his hand and said his name then Antonio could just pass it off at excitement at the prospect of making a friend.

The feeling made him bounce that much higher on the couch when he sat next to Gilbert once more in another laugh. “I’m really glad you’re not a ghost, wow, that would’ve been scary. I actually think I lost my-oh!” Right! He still had that! From his pocket he produced the muffin, holding it out to Gilbert. “Do you want this? I’m not hungry after thinking a ghost was gonna pop out at me,” in a snort.

Like that Antonio sat with Gilbert, just merrily kicking his legs lightly from his place on the posh sofa. For now he was just enjoying the atmosphere of meeting a new friend. Even if he always managed to find a way to entertain himself there was still that waiting to be bored for a majority of the night before he got to go home and play a game with his younger brothers, sisters, cousins. Usually he ended up just exploring or sticking close to his parents. Outgoing as he was, he still occasionally had a difficult time keeping up with the conversations of other kids in attendance. And what fun was that?

But here he was, finding someone who didn’t seem that way at all! Now if only they could have more fun. The only way he’d feel right in doing that was by helping get rid of Gilbert’s headache, which meant-that was an option. He was… three-quarters sure he could find his way back there, since he’d found it not long before he’d ended up at the kitchens.

He looked to Gilbert again, “can you swim?”

Words: 514

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made by MISSO for use only by BECCA

[Deleted]

Was this guy mentally challenged or something? It seemed like he had to process the offered hand to figure out how to respond to it, which was a ridiculously bright smile and a laugh as he shook it as he introduced himself as Antonio. That sounded Spanish, which would make sense. Spaniards tended to run a bit darker than most Europeans, right? Especially those in Russia. With the handshake out of the way, Antonio bounced back on the couch. Now that Gil was sitting up, the force on the other end of the cushion sent him up and down opposite of Antonio. He couldn't help but laugh a little bit with Antonio's infectious laughter.

"I'm really glad you're not a ghost, wow, that would've been scary. I actually think I lost my-oh!" Like a magician, or maybe a saint, Antonio pulled a muffing out of his pocket. It was still fresh enough that the sweet blueberry smell wafted off of it. It was still warm enough a little bit of steam rose off the top. Gilbert's jaw dropped, instantly salivating at the sight of the food, and his stomach audibly growled. He praised every deity in the sky when Antonio asked, "Do you want this? I'm not hungry after thinking a ghost was gonna pop out at me."

"Do I ever!" Gilbert exclaimed with a wolfish smile. He snatched the muffin away before Antonio could change his mind and bit off the golden brown top in one big bite. His splitting headache and itching eyes were instantly forgotten in the blueberry bliss that was this muffin. He fell back against the couch and moaned in delight as he chewed. He was certain there was some scientific proof somewhere that showed food always tasted better when hungry. Maybe Ludwig would know. Ah, who was he kidding. If anyone would know, or would be able to find out in, seriously, two second, it would be Ludwig. Yeah, he'd have to remember to ask him later.

As he savored the gifted muffin, Antonio seemed content to just sit quietly. Gilbert appreciated the boy's silence. Trying to hold a conversation while sating his hunger was the last thing he wanted to attempt to do. So they sat in a content silence. After his initial giant bite, Gilbert took his time to tear apart the muffin. He popped a pinch in his mouth at a time, rolling the warm muffin and blueberries around with his tongue before swallowing. Had he ever ate anything more delicious? (Okay, so maybe he was a bit of a drama queen, but it was a good muffin, no denying that. Rich people knew how to make good food.)

Once he was down to picking crumbs off the paper liner, Antonio finally spoke. "Can you swim?"

Well that was a weird question. Gilbert took his time licking his fingers before he looked to Antonio with raised brows. "I mean, not like I'd ever win any swimming races, but I know how not to drown?" He sucked at his teeth to get the last bit of flavor out. "That's a kinda random question. Why 'ya asking'?"

Words: 524

Tags: Antonio F. Carriedo;

made by MISSO on IOF

[Antonio F. Carriedo]

Antonio was a good boy, he really was. He didn’t ever feel much need to run away from home or do things for the specific act of it being bad and to cause trouble. What mischievous glint he had in him was more related to having fun with others than on his own. When left to his own devices he was much more likely to just go along with it all, variation being slight and within the realm of acceptance. Get him with another child, however, and you’ll get him wanting to have some kind of fun. Extroverted as he was, he did live on the fun and energy of being amongst others after all.

So in hearing that he wouldn’t possibly put his new friend in harm’s way by his idea – and really, that level of foresight was to be commended when it came to this boy – his smile broadened into something just a little lopsided and impish. “Good. Let’s go.” Was all he said with not an ounce of explanation or care for the previously given aversion to his touch. Already he was taking Gilbert by the hand and tugging him out of the room and down the hall. By then the party had begun to wind down to preparation for the meal, so there were little actual guests in the halls and most of the servants were otherwise occupied. Which really was fortunate, as Antonio had already forgotten the terror he’d felt about being caught before. Most if not all caution was already thrown to frigid Russian wind, taking it far from the mind of an excited Spaniard.

Right from where he’d turned for the kitchen, left from the blue vase, and another left at the red door. Thrown in a few short turns and angles and it was there! He totally had it remembered and in his head, definitely. Could find his way there. Despite his own few pauses to glance down either way of hallways there didn’t appear to me any question about his ability to find their destination. Not in Antonio’s mind. The rather groundless confidence of an idiot, I suppose. Perhaps there was some validity to it, at least, upon his seeing the pair of double doors he recognized.

Some small laughs leaked from him at its view that made him quicken his pace. When he pushed the doors open it shifted into a broad grin. Yeah, he’d gotten it right.

“I found this when I was looking for the food or something to do!” He explained, looking back at Gilbert with one or two quick nods. The two had made their way from a fine sitting room to an even finer indoor pool, fairly large by most standards for such things. The large arched ceiling that rose high above their heads gave the still room the slight echo quality that such expansive homes were known for. It made Antonio half wish his family had one of their own, although he would admit that he preferred swimming out in the sun. But there wasn’t much option for that out here, huh?

Ah, but they weren’t here for that. He faced Gilbert completely, “you can just say you lost your contacts in the water! I’ll say I pushed you in, so it’ll be fine.” He reasoned brightly.

Words: 567

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made by MISSO for use only by BECCA

[Deleted]

In response to Gilbert's affirmative, Antonio's smile gained a suspiciously mischievous look to it. He didn't answer Gilbert's inquiries as to why it mattered if he could swim or not. Instead he gabbed his hand and dragged him out the door with a cheery, "Good. Let's go." As to where they were going, Antonio didn't feel it was necessary to share.

Gilbert wasn't completely sure why he allowed himself to be dragged around this giant manor with Antonio. From how empty the halls were getting, no doubt the actually dinner part of this party was starting soon. He was probably going to miss out on some food. He really should be getting back to Ludwig as well, although he handled the eating part of these parties pretty well. Actually, he handled them better than Gilbert since he knew the proper way to behave and eat at fancy people's dinner tables. So hey, maybe it would be better if he missed the dinner so Ludwig wouldn't be embarrassed by his big brother.

As Antonio continued to lead them around, Gilbert started to wonder if he even knew where they were going. He seemed to be looking around and pausing too much for Gilbert's comfort. But, perhaps he had too little trust in the excited boy, because he quickened their pace and pushed open a pair of doors with a giant smile. "I found this when I was looking for the food or something to do!"

It was an indoors pool. Gilbert's jaw dropped at the ridiculous size of the room. How did a room this big even fit in this mansion? He remembered being impressed by the size of the mansion when walking up to it, but he never would have guessed a whole pool was housed inside it! His wonder of the room led him to forget the whole reason they were there. Not that he knew the reason, but that's what Antonio was there for. "You can just say you lost your contacts in the water! I'll say I pushed you in, so it'll be fine!"

Gilbert's awed gaze of the room snapped to Antonio in a look of utter disbelief. Was this kid serious? Did he seriously have parents that wouldn't get mad about such a situation? It wouldn't matter if Antonio took the blame for the dip in the pool and 'lost contacts,' Gilbert would still get in a hell of a lot of trouble with his parents. He preferred to stay out of their sphere of notice and getting yelled at was the worst way to be acknowledged by them. Not only would he be losing the contacts they stressed were 'worth more than him,' but his suit would have to get drenched as well to make the story believable.

Wait if he lost his contacts, Antonio would see his real eye color. He liked Antonio, he kinda wanted to be his friend. It'd be nice to have a friend his age… But if Antonio saw his freakish red eyes, he definitely wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore! Yeah this was definitely an awful plan. Teary eyes and a splitting headache were worth keeping his eyes normal and gaining a potential friend. So he backed up with a wary laugh. "No, it's fine, really. I mean, I'd get in trouble for losing them regardless, yknow? And I mean, my headache is hardly even bothering me anymore! I guess I just needed a distraction! Thanks for the thought, though!"

Words: 584

Tags: Antonio F. Carriedo;

made by MISSO on IOF

[Antonio F. Carriedo]

Obliviousness, while cute in children, isn’t necessarily a positive trait. It tends to go hand in hand with a sort of seeming self-centeredness, such as the inability to think how some things might affect others. It could also be called ignorance. Two such words that describe Antonio rather well.

“No, it’s fine, really.” Antonio heard Gilbert say. “I’d get in trouble for losing them regardless.” It’d be a lie if Antonio later said he hadn’t heard those protests. But in his head he was absolutely sure it would all be fine. If he just said it was him Gilbert’s parents couldn’t get mad at him, and he could so take some light scolding or laughing from his parents. Totally fine! Besides, it seemed like something fun to do now that he had another kid.

He laughed, the sound faintly bouncing off the high ceiling. “My mom will probably offer to buy you new ones since it’s my fault. Besides, she wears them, so maybe she can get some that don’t hurt!” Ah, what a great idea! Antonio hadn’t even considered that before that point. See? Nothing wrong it all, it would work out! No question. None whatsoever. Totally fine.

So, with that, Antonio pushed Gilbert right in. Which was… surprisingly easy, considering it was another kid his age. But Gilbert was a fair bit lighter than Antonio expected. To him it didn’t seem like it took more than a faint nudge of his arm for him to make a spectacular splash into the pool. That was a bit big for his size, but maybe that was just Antonio imagining it to make the whole situation even better. As it was he was already laughing when Gilbert came up, looking much like a drowned white rat. All white dripping hair and clothes. Even Antonio knew that maybe it was a bit rude to be laughing in that situation and that he may have gone a bit far, but really! Gilbert just looked hilarious dripping wet.

“Sorry, sorry, wow you made a big splash. Maybe you weigh more than-” Kneeling down by the edge where Gilbert had surfaced, Antonio had begun to speak before he noticed something. Gilberts eyes were not that color before. He would have remembered eyes like that. He stopped mid-sentence to stare, entranced. He even leaned in and reached his arm to push at his hair to see them better.

“So they were those color contacts, huh? I think I’ve heard of those. But wow-your eyes look a lot like…” What did they look like? Antonio couldn’t quite place it, what they reminded him of. For the first moment they only brought up a familiar sort of emotion he couldn’t assign to any specific memory of thing. Something he liked, that was for sure, by the press of a smile at his lips. Something calming…
Of course! He grinned, “they look like flowers! How pretty. Oh, but you were hiding them…” Why would you wear colored contacts when you had neat eyes like that? That would be like spray painting a rose with some boring brown… Aha! “I get it, people usually get jealous of how cool they are, huh?” It made sense, but what a shame to have to hide such a nice red.

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made by MISSO for use only by BECCA

[Deleted]

The laugh Antonio gave in response was not in the slightest reassuring. Was he really still going to go through with this? "My mom will probably offer to buy you new ones since it's my fault. Besides, she wears them, so maybe she can get some that don't hurt!" Gilbert made the mistake of assuming there was still room for argument. He was going to protest that, no it didn't matter if Antonio's mom offered to buy him new ones. The fact would still stand that Gilbert had lost the original pair and got his fancy suit soaking wet in the process. Gilbert's parents would kill him.

Or were going to kill him, as he soon realized his mistake. Without any warning, Antonio shoved him into the pool. Completely caught off guard, Gilbert flailed and tried to keep himself from falling in, but it was all for naught. He fell in with an enormous splash. The heavily chlorinated water weighed down on his suit and dragged him to the tiled bottom. Although mentally he knew he shouldn't rub at his eyes, his hands were already moving on their own. He hadn't closed his eyes in time and the chlorine has gotten in them. Thankfully he was in the shallow end, so all he had to do was stand and vigorously rub at his eyes. Damn that really stung!

"What the hell was that for!"

And then he opened his eyes and realized the obnoxious ring of brown had left his vision. His heart dropped. He hadn't thought that just falling in the pool and rubbing his eyes would have been enough to really lose them! Antonio was apologizing or something, but Gilbert heard none of it. His feet felt nasty, underwater in socks and shoes. His hair sent rivulets of water down his face and his clothes above the water line at his chest suctioned to his small frame. He was seriously pissed. He glared up at Antonio, who was now kneeling at the edge.

He stopped talking and just stared at Gilbert, who furrowed his brows in confusion. What was this dumbass staring at so intently- shit. Antonio reached out and pushed Gilbert's wet hair out of his face. He froze, his anger died as his blood ran cold. His contact were gone, Antonio could see his freakish red eyes.

"So they were color contact, huh? I think I've heard of those. But wow-your eyes look a lot like…" And here it came. The name-calling and disgust, questioning if he was really a mutant with demon eyes like this. Hopes of making a new friends went down the drain with his contacts. Gilbert didn't even have the energy to push Antonio away and leave before he could continue. Whatever, he'd heard worst, he doubted Antonio could come up with anything that bad.

But then he smiled. "They look like flowers! How pretty. Oh but you were hiding them…" Gilbert's jaw dropped. Was- was he serious? Flowers? Pretty? No one called his eyes pretty or compared them to flowers, not even Ludwig. Ludwig thought they were cool, but only because he was an innocent and perfect little brother. But here was this boy he just met calling his eyes pretty and not demonic. A blush crawled across Gilbert's cheeks and to the tips of his ears as it really sunk in what Antonio said. "I get it, people usually get jealous of how cool they are, huh?"

This kid was so stupid! So completely stupid and stupidly nice. Gilbert felt so happy to the point of feeling angry again. He wasn’t sure how to respond to the jumble of emotions bouncing around in him. There was excitement of being accepted; embarrassment of being complimented, yet at the same time a shy kind of joy that someone didn’t find him repulsive; and once again anger returned about being shoved in the pool.  "You're a dumbass! Boys don't want to be pretty!" He yelled as he grabbed Antonio's wrist and pushed off the wall with his feet, effectively dragging the other into the pool with him. "And that's for pushing me in, dickwad!"

Words: 692

Tags: Antonio F. Carriedo; @mona; AND AS PROMISED WE WILL WAIT FOR YOU MONA

made by MISSO on IOF

[Deleted]

"I wouldn’t have cared if it was anything else"

From a young age, Francis had been taught that parties were solely for the purpose of making good impressions, charming people, and socializing with those who had power and he could use in the dirty game that politics was. They were not for fun, nor should they be taken lightly; it was just another important meeting, merely disguised as a beautiful, glorious evening where what felt like royalty met and conversed about the imperfections of society, and discussed most unsavory gossip at any and every chance possible.

The prospect of just maybe having the chance of socializing with other children his age excited Francis, and he often looked forward to dates of parties. Of course, his father did not share his romanticized notions, but allowed Francis to do as he wished for once when they were invited to such gatherings. It was crucial for him to be able to develop the ability of charm, and to learn how to properly act as a gentleman for himself. Simply studying and reading about the field of politics wasn't enough – there was much more to it; Reynold Bonnefoy was no fool. He encouraged Francis to be the life of the party – literally – and become the best at the societal aspects.

Easily, Francis managed to do as his father wished for once; the charisma came naturally to him. He truly enjoyed attending the parties, but he never managed to make any genuine friends. It was a bit disheartening, over the course of the years – yet Francis was determined. He wouldn't give up. Surely there was someone out there who he would get along well with; he just hadn't met them yet.

Tonight, at this particular party, Francis disinterestedly observed a group of younger children. He didn't mind if they were younger or older, but there was quite an age gap from what Francis could tell. He fancied the idea of being able to be a sort of big-brother figure to them by joining them, but he easily discarded it. It just wasn't appealing as it could've been at any other time, and Francis longed for some kids who were around his age.

After much looking to no avail, Francis resigned to wandering around the manor with a sigh. He really shouldn't have left the main room, as it was rude to the host and if his father found out, he would most certainly be severely reprimanded and possibly punished – but he was a bit bored. It was tiring to have adults constantly coo at you, tell you how cute and/or handsome you look, then proceed to interrogate your life story out of you. Besides, the place appeared to be rather beautiful, and Francis fully appreciated the interior designs. They were lovely, and a little exploration never hurt anyone.

As he walked through the halls, humming quietly to himself, Francis continued to admire the place. The halls were large, but not as large as others he had seen, but there were an impressive number of expensive decorations. Unfortunately, Francis didn't have all night to take this little tour, so he moved on quickly after taking only a few seconds to linger.

It was when Francis encountered a very nice indoor pool, peering inside, when he finally found what he had been searching for all this time. Two boys appeared to be talking on the edge of the pool, one brown-haired and the other – silver-haired? It was quite curious, and Francis's interest was piqued. They seemed to be staring down at the water, and he was alarmed when he saw the brunette shove the other in. What on earth were they thinking?! They were going to get into so much trouble for this – they were not wearing appropriate attire for swimming, so he could infer that they had gone here without permission. Now, Francis was no tattletale, but he was currently both worried and drawn to know whatever trouble these two were getting into.

He flung open the door just as the brunette was dragged into the water by the one who had been unceremoniously pushed in, and the resulting splash resounded through the commodious room. He ventured over gingerly to the pool's side and stared down, blue eyes wide with concern. ”Are you alright? What is going on here?”

electric has gangnam style

[Antonio F. Carriedo]

Dumbass. Well that was the first time he’d be called that to his face. Antonio wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond to that, whether he should be offended or mad-what. And boys don’t want to be pretty? That was understandable. Perhaps. But a boy could have pretty features, right? People liked to call his eyes pretty and he never minded much. If it was a positive word it didn’t matter, they were trying to be nice, so you should be happy. Right? Although, already he was starting to be able to tell that he and Gilbert didn’t quite think alike on some things. If not most.

“But they are!” He replied, laughing jovially. It was pretty fun all the same! And Gilbert didn’t seem… too mad.

Though… that was debatable by what happened next. One minute Antonio was dry and laughing on the edge of the pool, and the next he was wet and blinking in it. A few short coughs, not much, was all it took when he came up. Then a bit more blinking. Then-

“Hahahaha! You really pulled me in!” Maybe it was supposed to be retribution but Antonio didn’t mind at all! He’d jumped into ponds and lakes almost fully clothed as he was now. There was a nice pond on one of their vineyards that whenever the family visited all of the children simply had to get into. And, when it was too hot, they may not feel up to all the hassle of taking off their clothes before getting to enjoy the cool relief of the water.

This wasn’t the pond on their property with all of his siblings and cousins, but for some reason Antonio felt almost just as happy and full of laughter. He laughed out loud, even more so than before, and pushed at Gilbert shortly before splashing at him. “Well it makes our story make more sense, right?” He said, giggling again just as another voice was heard. Someone not them and-

oh thank God, it wasn’t a ghost. This one looked definitely alive and well from the very start. The light and being able to see him helped in a big way. That also helped in the relief Antonio had in realizing very quickly that he wasn’t an adult come to scold them either. Instead there was yet another kid that looked about the same age as both Antonio and Gilbert, this one a boy with fine blond hair and blue eyes. Antonio was meeting all kinds tonight.

At the concern Antonio looked over to Gilbert while treading water. He turned back to the other, shaking his head and snorting, “fine! We can both swim.” Because that was the one reason anyone would be worried about seeing two boys respectively push and tug each other into an indoor pool at a fancy party. “I was just messing around, haha.”

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made by MISSO for use only by BECCA