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

Chapter 13~!

"Vee~ What are you going to the dance as, Malcolm?" Italy asked during Home Ec. the day of the dance.

"A Grim Reaper. Are you still going as a werewolf?"

"Si~! Your idea sounds scary!" he said with a grin.

"I hope so," I said, thinking of my plan with a devious smile.

"Ooh, it looks like mi fratello's got a prank planned," Italy said, and I jumped. He guessed it!

I chuckled a bit. "Yup. It's gonna be payback for America scaring me earlier."

"Tell me every detail after you do it, okay?" He looked excited, just like I felt.

"Of course, Feli," I said, and the timer dinged to announce our Halloween-themed cookies were done. I pulled them out, and once they were cool we set to work frosting them to look like bats and jack-o'-lanterns and candy.

I was putting the finishing touches on a bat when I smelled the acrid smell of something burning and looked for the source. It was England's team, predictably, and they were pulling out the tray of smoldering, blackened hunks of cement-like "dough".

"If you'd just let me help earlier, dude, they wouldn't have turned like this," Alfred said between coughs as he waved dark smoke away from his face. "This is a disaster!"

"Shut up, it's still salvageable!" Arthur protested, setting down the tray and pulling off his oven mitts. "Aren't I right, Matthew?"

'Oh, now he gets noticed' I thought sadly, returning my eyes to my work while still listening.

"I-I'm sorry, Arthur, but I-I don't think it's really going to work," Matthew said hesitantly as he examined the "cookies", seeming a little afraid of them. Not that I blame him, I'd be afraid of them, too, if I didn't have space between them and myself. "They're too burned, and you put the frosting on before baking them? What's with that?"

I had to struggle to contain my laughter then. 'He frosted them and then baked them? WTH?'

"Malcolm? What's-a the matter?" Italy asked as I covered my mouth with a hand, my shoulders shaking with silent laughter. I nodded and glanced at him so he could see I was only laughing. "What's-a so funny?"

I only shook my head and got control of my silent giggles, returning to frosting my little bat. "It's nothing, Italy. Just something funny that I overheard."

He insisted I tell him, so I did and he almost burst into laughter, too. The sight of him laughing almost made me explode into giggles, too, and we clung to each other as we tried not to let Arthur see us by being discreet about it. I wiped away my tears and got back to finishing the cookies before the bell.

~~~

"Lift your arm so I can wrap it," I said to Mattie. I was helping him into his costume, and then I was going to splatter the fake blood onto the bandages.

"Aren't you planning some revenge prank on America?" he inquired as he did what I asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" I replied.

"I've just been noticing things, and I overheard you talking to Italy earlier during second period."

"Oh... Yeah, well, I just hope America didn't, because I don't want him to know. Where's the surprise in that?" I stepped back and surveyed my handiwork. With bandages wrapped artfully all around his limbs, torso, and neck, and some hanging loose to flutter in a breeze, he looked pretty good. No, not like attractive, I mean the costume looked done. Not that he isn't attractive, but... I'm shutting up now. Stupid thought train, derail already! "Ready for the blood?"