What is... "Home?" (Hetalia Fanfic, W.A. '13 Finalist)

Chapter 91~!

What was left of March went peacefully. It was full of studying hard to get caught back up after being in the past for a month, and tests and spending leisurely time at the school. Of course, something had to change over that time, and what did was very stressful.

"Melina, my god! There you are!" Feliks shouted as he ran up to me. I turned toward him with a worried expression.

"What is it?"

"Your shoot, girl! It was a month ago, and you totally didn't show! What the hell?"

"I-I was stuck in 1750!" I replied defensively. "I didn't mean to, I promise!"

"Hmph. Fine, I forgive you, but we need to get you, like, totally back into the model groove," he stated while grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward the door and, ultimately, the school's front gates.

I sighed and allowed him to kidnap me. "Alright, but how much longer will it take to get me back into the motions?"

"Like, a week? Depends on what I have to teach you again," he replied. "I was totally worried sick about you when you disappeared, girly! Seriously!"

I smiled at the back of his head. "Thanks, Feliks. If it helps, I did feel bad about missing the shoot after all that hard work you put in to make me a model."

He grinned back at me. "Just be prepared for my revenge, Melina. You're in desperate need of a makeover after being a pirate for, like, a month."

I groaned woefully as I was dragged into the limousine.

~~~

"Alright, turn! Like, the other way!" he called, and I did as I was told, flashing my smile at the imaginary camera. Feliks nodded and called out another command, then another, and I hurried to obey without rushing too much. If I rushed, he would make me do the sequence all over again, slower that time.

"Break!" he boomed, and I flopped onto my back, finally allowed to breathe hard. "Get some water and sit down- oh, you, like, already died."

"This is hard work!" I replied between pants. "It's all gotta be perfect: the poise, the expression, the motions."

"Exactly! Glad to see you're starting to get it, Melina," he said before walking away to go talk to someone who had just come in. I sat up slowly and placed my hands on top of my head, my fingers laced together as I took deep breaths.

"Melina?" a certain Canadian called from another doorway, this one being just behind me while Poland was across the room.

I turned and spotted my boyfriend, my grin spreading. "Hi!"

"Hi there. Is this where you work?" he asked as he came up to me and sat beside me on the stage.

"Yeah, but you'd better get off the stage before Poland rips your head off," I warned before taking a drink from my water bottle. "He's very serious about this stuff."

"Ah, good to know," he said, sliding down to the ground and resting his forearms against the edge of the platform. "I was thinking we could go on a date tonight, i-if you were free."

"Hmmm, lemme think... Of course!" I replied, running a hand through my hair and shaking it out. "Where would we go?"'

"Dinner and a movie," he said. "Olive Garden and either a romantic comedy or action, as per your tastes."

I smiled, my heart fluttering. "Okay, that sounds perfect. I should be off in about an hour, if I can last that long," I added with a little laugh.

"Great, then it's a date?" I nodded and pecked him on the lips in reply.

"Definitely. See you then!"