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

Chapter 18~!

It was the day after I'd finished my period when we were loaded onto the bus one chilly, gray morning in mid-November. On the long bus with very comfy seats, the countries were talking loudly, glad to be getting out of the normal monotony of classes. I had no idea why we were going somewhere, or even where we were headed.

"Hey, Al? What's going on? Where're we going?" I asked the American next to me.

He looked up from his portable game. "It's the Harvest Festival we always go to in the middle of November. The teachers think that if we do this every year we might get along better by having a sort of Thanksgiving with everyone."

"It never works very well, though," Canada piped up from the seat behind us.

"Who're you?" America asked his brother.

"I'm Canada!" No recognition. "Your brother!" Nope. "I'm up north?"

"Ooooh! Yeah, yeah!" America said before turning back to me. "Yeah, it never really works. Someone usually gets drunk and we fight and all that."

"Usually it's England who finds the alcohol," Canada added.

"Oi! It's not always me!" England protested from the seat across the aisle from Canada.

"No, but it was you last year, and the year before, and the year before that-"

"Shut it, wanker!"

I laughed smally. 'You guys are so predictable sometimes.' "So, we're heading outof the city to have a picnic of sorts?"

"Try a huge dinner with tons of food from everywhere and all that," America answered, turning back to his game.

I lit up. "Really? That sounds so fun!" He had tuned me out and was trying hard to beat the boss or whatever, so I turned around in my seat and put my chin on my arms over the back of my bench to face Canada. "Are you excited about this?"

"Well, I never was particularly, but maybe this year will be okay, eh," he answered, and I smiled happily.

"I'm excited, this'll be my... never mind," I said quickly, sitting back down in my seat and leaving my roommate confused.

"What is it?" he asked, standing a little and leaning over to see the top of my head.

I sighed. "I was gonna say it'll be my first, but I thought I've said that a little too often by now. I'm sounding like a broken record or something, or just really whiny or whatever." I shrugged. "Eh, I don't really care."

"Oh... Well, it's okay to admit you've never done something. Why wouldn't it be?"

I shrugged again. "I don't see anything /wrong/ with it, it's just depressing that I keep saying I've never done stuff that everyone does. With families." I whispered that last part, and it was swallowed up by the noise the bus made as we drove over gravel. I looked out the window and saw all the trees zing by in colorful blurs. 'I love fall' I thought with a smile.

Canada had said something I didn't hear, and I turned around to face him again. "Sorry, what did you say? I wasn't listening."

He looked a little depressed. "Never mind, it wasn't anything."

"I'm sorry," I cried out sincerely. "I was just thinking about how pretty the trees look during the fall and I spaced out. Really, what'd you say?"

He just smiled, one corner of his mouth turned up, and shook his head. "I was just commenting on the trees, too." (A/N: /Uh-huh/ -_-)

"Who are you talking to, Marcolm?" Japan asked from the seat across from me, and I sighed.

"This guy named Canada, he's my roommate," I said, gesturing to him with a hand. Canada hung his head and Kumajirou asked him who he was.