The mirror was clouded, droplets of water dripping against the glass surface.
Rubbing a soft tan towel against her hair, Natalya caught a glance at her fuzzy reflection in the mirror. Taking a damp finger to the mirror, she wiped a small stroke of water from the glass. Her shimmering amethyst eyes stared back into the mirror, a clear sharp reflection glancing back through the small clear line.
Taking a gentle hand through her hair, she combed the dripping strands with her fingers.
Those moments shared at the waterfall still stuck to her, as did droplets of water to her bare back. That same twisted and deep scar still slithered through her thoughts, like un unpleasant memory. Every little spike and curve of that scar spoke a bad memory, a nightmare hidden away in lies and denial.
She could never guess that America, would have been in this much pain.
A sharp knock at the door startled her. She gripped the towel tightly, wrapping it firmly around her body.
"H-hey Bela..." Alfred stuttered on the other side of the door. "I got you a fresh pair of clothes...I ordered them last night and they arrived just now. I hope you don't mind."
Holding on tight to the towel, Natalya tip toed to the door, gripping the door handle, and cracking it open.
On the other side, a flustered American jumped away, looking away with red cheeks. In his left hand, was a small plastic bag. He handed it to her, biting his lip, closing his eyes.
Stepping out from the bathroom, she grabbed the plastic bag and stepped back behind the door.
"T-thank you Alfie..." she whispered. America slowly made eye contact with her, giving Natalya a shaky thumbs up.
He was clearly embarrassed.
Sharing the same red cheeks, she slowly shut the door in front of her, stepping back and releasing a sigh.
"Oh, uhm one more thing!" Alfred added. "I-I washed your dress...a-and I fixed the tear I made the other day."
Cracking a small gentle smile, Natalya tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Thank you."
She could hear Alfred scurry away, clearly too uncomfortable to say anything else.
Gazing into the plastic bag, Natalya pulled out a soft and light dreamy yellow shirt. White roses decorated the shirt, beautiful and detailed as if they were real.
Accompanying the shirt, was a faded pair of light blue jeans, the cuffs loose and baggy.
Natalya smiled to herself, reaching farther into the bag and pulling out all its contents.
She frowned to herself as she held a plain white bra and pair of panties in her hand.
Turning a gentle pink, Natalya laughed to herself. He must have been beyond embarrassed purchasing those two things for her.
But it meant a lot to her in that moment. A fresh pair of clothes and a place to sleep was paradise. Especially seeing him everyday now.
Seeing his little habits and his little secrets, it drove her crazy. She was crazy for this man. That man with his own little antics and habits. Her man. That's who he was.
Slipping on the clothing from the bag, Natalya felt herself fall into the same rabbit hole she had fallen down the first day she went crazy for him.
His protection and caring spirit was the love she had needed long long ago when she was obsessed with Ivan.
And she respected him. She understood the inappropriate boundaries and her unhealthy habits of showing her love. She had to pull herself together and take things one at a time and give this friendship thing another try. Yet, she felt herself slipping through the cracks with each day she spent around him.
——————————————————-
The phone rang. Alfred felt himself groan, as he held a rolling pin in one hand, and a ball of dough in the other. He had finally gotten started on tonight's meal after putting himself in the most awkward interaction with Natalya ever. He prayed to god those clothes fit her, feeling weird enough about the thought of returning the clothing that she had worn. Her and her very naked body-
He stopped himself and put the rolling pin aside, dusting flour from his hands onto his pants.
The home line still rang irritatingly, and Alfred crosses the kitchen, seizing the telephone from the counter.
"Hello? This is Alfred," America spoke in a lifeless tone, twirling the telephone cord around his finger.
"H-hey Alfred, this is Toris."
His heart beating at an uncontrollable rate, he felt himself stiffen up. Collecting his thoughts and mentally comforting himself, he spoke. "Ah, hey Lithuania, what's up my bro? Been a while how have you been?"
He knew it. He knew this was about Natalya. What else would he be calling for. If Russia connected the dots, he wasn't gonna get out of this easily.
"I've been fine Alfred, thank you for asking," Toris responded in a painfully polite tone. "I'm just here to discuss a rising matter in the Russian household."
America gulped, gripping the phone tightly, as if at any moment, he could crush it in his hand.
"Oh, that's unfortunate to hear. What's up then?" Alfred responded.
"It's about Belarus," Toris sighed, his tone shifting.
He was right. Of course he was. They were gonna get to him eventually. "O-oh?" Alfred stuttered, trying to sound surprised.
"Yes. She's been missing for a little bit and we want to make sure she's safe, she is an important factor in our decision making, America."
He couldn't breathe. What were they gonna do if they found her here? He slightly hates to admit it, but it was nice having her around. Someone to talk to and do calming things with.
"Why are you calling me then?" Alfred accused, his mouth running dry.
"Russia has a feeling you're involved in this disappearance."
He was backed into a corner. "That's bold of you to accuse me of being involved with her absence," Alfred snorted, keeping a calm and collected face the best he could.
"She's been drawn to you, via the incident at the world meeting recently," Toris explained. "So I think it's obvious that she's with you."
His voice was rising in anger, a tint of jealousy in his tone.
"She's not here," Alfred said in a monotone voice. "I haven't seen her sense the meeting."
Shit, he couldn't fool Toris for the life of him. "Why should I believe you then?" Toris sighed.
"Here's the thing," Alfred lowly growled into the phone. "If she was here, I would get rid of her the first chance I get, okay? She's not here."
"You don't have to get upset with me," Toris retorted. "I was just asking. It's only a hunch."
Alfred felt himself relax slightly. "S-sorry Lithuania...I'm just really tired. I'm not in the mood for talking really."
"My apologies as well America, I didn't mean to jump to conclusions," Toris apologized. Alfred sighed in relief and opened his mouth to respond. He never got the chance to
Toris' voice was cut off, telling Alfred he had hung up on him.
Swallowing a lump in his throat, he hung up and placed the phone down.
God, he hoped he was convincing enough for the Lithuanian to assume he was not involved in her sudden absence.
The floorboards behind him creaked, and he turned around to meet Natalya's gaze. Those white roses and those gentle waves of a blonde hair spilling over her shoulders made him crack a smile.
"Glad to see those fit you just fine," he chuckled, turning back to the counter, where his rolling pin and dough sat awaiting him.
"Y-yes," Natalya said simply, striding into the kitchen, and taking a seat in one of the bar stools tucked underneath the marble counter.
Alfred continued to roll out the dough, putting his weight into the rolling pin.
"What are you making?" Natalya asked, watching as he finally flattened out the dough enough to shape it into a circle.
"I'm making us a homemade pizza," Alfred responded with a grin. "I originally was gonna order us one, but I'm not too sure that you'd enjoy it very much. It's best to keep you away from my greasy food."
Forcing a laugh, Alfred patted his stomach. "It's too late for me. I'm addicted to shit like that."
Natalya could only stare at him, her eyes piercing his. He forced down a shutter and turned his attention to the pizza once again. "I also thought we'd have a movie night. Homemade pizza, some popcorn and soda pop sounds pretty good, right?"
She could only give him a single nod, still not breaking her intense eye contact.
Giving her a confident thumbs up, he grinned and gestures her to go into the living room. "There's a movie rack by the DVD player on the shelf. Pick out a movie! Surprise me!"
Natalya slowly got up, and marched into the living room next door.
Alfred turned his attention toward the jar of marina sauce he had prepared beforehand.
Reaching for a spoon, he dipped it into the sauce, and spread it atop the dough.
Spreading it equally and carefully, Alfred pondered on what possible movie choices she might choose. Secretly, he was hoping she would choose a Disney movie, something cute and lighthearted. He felt she could enjoy that.
Natalya entered the kitchen once again, a dvd case clutched in her hand. Alfred looked up at her and beamed.
"What are we watchin' tonight then, Natty?"
Holding the case up to his view, Natalya responded meekly. "Is this okay? I thought it looked interesting.
Alfred stiffened up and kept a straight face,
The case read Silent Hill.
Wonderful........
————-
"Are you sure you're okay with this," Natalya murmured.
Alfred felt himself flinch, as he held the popcorn bowl in his shaking hands.
"Of psh, of course! Not a problem!" He assured her, flashing his trademark hero grin,
"If I'm correct, I've heard from Japan that your terrified of this kinda stuff-."
"Ah nah not at all! Come on now, I'm not lame!" Alfred laughed, placing the popcorn bowl on the coffee table in front of them. The hot and fresh homemade pizza sat on a platter next to it, two paper plates resting beside it.
"Why don't we get this party started?" Alfred grinned, plopping down on the couch next to Natalya.
Snatching the remote from the table, he clicked the power button. The TV sprung to life, the menu screen for the movie Silent Hill glowing a ghastly grayish white.
He already didn't like this.
Pressing play, Alfred slumped back, placing the remote back onto the table. He reached for one of the pillows on the couch, squeezing it against his chest. Everything was going to be alright, he could do this. It was only one movie, he knew it wasn't real.
As the first scene continued to play on, he felt himself relax, assuring himself he could handle this.
Natalya watched with emotionless eyes, as if she was already bored.
He should have just told her no. She would have understood. But then he'd look like a total loser. God, he was supposed to be the cool tough guy.
The screen flashed, a jump scare causing Alfred to tumble back and scream in absolute fear.
Natalya watched as he toppled over the couch and onto the floor.
"America!" She asked, concerned.
Alfred climbing back up onto the couch. "It's fine, it's fine! Just startled me!" He said in a shaky tone, reaching for the pillow and holding tight to it.
As if to mock him even farther, the scene escalated and graphic and horrifying scenes making him shake.
He couldn't do this. He didn't care what she thought. This was who he was and he shouldn't be ashamed of it. Alfred screamed, and reached for Natalya's arm, pulling her close. He buried his face into her shoulder, continuing to scream in absolute horror. "Oh god, oh fuck!" He bellowed, wrapping his arms around her waist now, hiding his sight of the movie with her blonde hair. She stiffened up at first, but slowly relaxed, placing a gentle hand atop his head, as if to assure him everything is alright.
She leaned forward and suddenly, the room went black.
He looked up and saw Natalya holding the remote in her hand. She knew he couldn't handle it.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have chosen that movie," she sighed, as Alfred quickly let go of her, flushed and embarrassed.
"I-I should be apologizing, I'm too chicken to watch this kind of shit."
Belarus turned to him, and gave him that very smile. That same smile that melted him into shock.
"Don't be sorry. There's things that everyone can't handle too. It doesn't make you flawed to be scared."
He returned the smile. "T-thanks Belarus," Alfred whispered, refusing to give her eye contact any longer.
God he was an absolute idiot. Now it was awkward, the two sitting silently in the dark. God he had to break the awkwardness. He turned back toward her
"Hey Natalya I-."
The two accidentally bonked foreheads. Natalya retracted back, clutching her forehead in a surprised manner. Alfred panicked and leaned forward, grabbing her arm. "Oh god, sorry Natty," he said flustered.
He couldn't move. His body tightened up and he stared down at her.
He somehow managed to climb on top of her, the two staring silently up at one another.
He turned beat red, screaming at himself to move. He couldn't seem to move his body, his eyes only on her amethyst spheres.
This was sending her the wrong idea. What if she tried to make a move, thinking he was proposing something he didn't mean to.
God, why couldn't he move?!
Was it...those same glittering eyes he saw today at the creek? He was drawn to them like magnets. God, he never knew how gorgeous her eyes were.
Her eyes met his, and he couldn't breathe.
Why, why was he frozen under her gaze? Why did it suddenly matter now?!
"Alfred I..." she whispered, her entire face turning pink, her eyes screaming lust.
Her hand suddenly creeped up his leg, touching his thigh gently.
He snapped out of it and rolled off of her.
"Let's...pick out something watch."
__________________________________________________
Hey germs! I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit shorter than my usual ones, but your boy has been busy as hell with online school. I really hope everyone is healthy and safe and feeling alright in this worldwide pandemic,
I ,eat damn, someone going sicko mode on Plague Inc.
Anyways, I'll do my best to push out another chapter by the end of the month, and PLEASE GIVE ME IDEAS, ANY IDEA IS A GOOD ONE I LOVE LOVE LOVE HEARING IDEAS SO DONT BE SCARED!
Cheers,
Jameson

Oh and I drew some random and concept art for porcelain face, so here it is, in all its glory  ( ˊ̱˂˃ˋ̱ )