Trying not to hate you EnglandxReader Part 5

As rays from the morning sun crept their way through uncovered windows, green eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Oh… my head…" Arthur grumbled. His head was probably the thing hurting the most, but really his whole body was in pain. Probably because he'd passed out on the floor.

He struggled to get up for a bit, and when he finally did he was rewarded with a spinning room. He tried closing his eyes but this only made it worse, so he simply sat down on the couch and held his head.

"I swear I'm never drinking again…" He said miserably.

"WELL GOOD MORNING, SLEEPYHEAD!!!!" An obnoxious cheery voice yelled, making Arthur feel like someone was putting a jackhammer to his head.

"Ahhh! You git; what's the big idea?!"

________ giggled. "Just getting a little revenge for yesterday."

"Revenge? What are you…" suddenly his face got very red. "Oh God, we didn't… did we?"

"Please, you think I'd let you do anything like that?" She scoffed. Though he did get pretty close…

Despite his condition, ________ probably had the rougher night of the two. At least Arthur got  some sleep; she barely slept a wink! For some reason, she couldn't get what happened out of her head.

"Ye think I don't know you lied when ya said ye didn't feel those
sparks? Of course, I can't get too mad... I lied too."

Okay, so maybe he felt something when they kissed. She didn't care much about that. But how dare he claim to know what she was feeling?! She didn't even know what she was feeling!

"Then what did happen?"  He asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"You were just annoying, that's all." She lied, walking over to him and handing him a glass of water. "Here. You need to rehydrate yourself."

He stared at her for a bit, taken back by this sudden act of kindness, before drinking the water. "Thanks…" He said.

"Don't drink it all just yet. I'll be back with your breakfast, save it for that." _____ replied. She left into the kitchen and returned with a chicken broth, a banana,  some toast, and an aspirin.

"H-here. All this stuff is supposed to be good for a hangover. When you're done, you should get some more rest."

He squinted his eyes at her. "You sure know a lot about hangovers… do you have a lot of experience with this stuff?"

"If you're asking if I've ever been drunk, no. I've had sips of beer here and there and personally, I find the stuff disgusting. I haven't tried wine though. I imagine I'd like it, but I'd rather not risk an addiction."

He cocked a furry brow. "So then… how do you know all this stuff?"

She blushed. "I um… well I looked it up, y'know, for you…"

There was an awkward silence as he stared at her, shocked and touched that she would do that for him.

"B-but don't go getting any ideas, alright? It's not as if I suddenly started liking your ass! I just didn't wanna hear you whine all day!"

And just like that, those feelings were out the door. "I-I don't whine! And what's your problem with me anyway?! Neither of us wanted to get married, but that doesn't mean you have to hate me!"

Her eyes went wide at this. He thought she hated him? For some reason, that made her heart hurt…

"I… I don't hate you, Arthur…" She said shyly, looking away blushing.

"Then why do you act like it?"

"It's… it's complicated, okay? But I promise I don't hate you. Hell, I don't even dislike you."

His eyes lit up and it was obvious he was trying to contain his joy. "R-really? You don't dislike me?"

"N-no… and I'm sorry I made you feel as if I did."

Another pause.

"Do you um… do you hate or dislike me?"

"No… I suppose not."

________'s lit up the same way his did a few moments ago. "Really? Even after all the crap I put you through?"

"Shocking right? But no, I don't hate or dislike you."

There was yet another pause, but this one was different… it was peaceful, happy even. Both of them somewhat enjoyed it.

"So um… does this mean you want to call a truce?" _______ offered. "For real this time, I mean."

"Eh… sure, I guess."

"Okay…"

Arthur had finished his food by now, and was attempting to sit up. But once again he failed miserably.

"Oh here, let me help you." ______ said, putting his arm on her shoulder. The two made their way to the room and Arthur pulled back the blanket before crawling in.

"T-thanks for all this, ______."

"Y-yeah, no problem. I'll come get you in a little bit."

With that, Arthur closed his eyes. _______ made her way back to the living room to collect the dishes he had left on the table. Somehow, this whole interaction with Arthur made her more nervous than what happened the previous night.

She feared she was on her way to falling in love with him. And what was worse, she didn't really mind…

Arthur woke up a few hours later. He knew _______ said she'd wake him up, but he felt much better already so he figured there was no harm.

He decided to wash up for a little and then thank ________ for her help. When he got out of the shower though, he was surprised to hear music. When he got closer to the source of the sound, ______'s iPod plugged into an amplifier (or whatever the hell those things are called, if I'm wrong, tell me and I'll fix it), he realized; he knew this song!

He kept his distance as he heard ________ begin to sing:

"Wise men say only fools rush in
but I can't help falling in love with you."

He gazed at her admirably. She had a pretty voice… it was imperfect, but that made it realistic. He liked it. He decided at this point to join in.

"Shall I stay
would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you."

___________'s head wept around, startled by his sudden appearance. But she relaxed and went with it, singing the next part.

"Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
some things are meant to be,"

"Take my hand, take my whole life too
for I can't help falling in love with you."

"Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
some things are meant to be,"

"Take my hand, take my whole life too
for I can't help falling in love with you."

"For I can't help falling in love with you…"

The two looked at each other, unsure what to do next.

"S-so, you're feeling better?" She asked.

"Y-yeah…"

"That's good. I'm uh… I'm gonna go for a walk. I'll be back okay?"

"Um, okay…"

She got her shoes on and went on said walk, leaving Arthur alone to ponder over what just happened. Was he falling for her? He wasn't sure…

Not too far from their house just yet ________ was pondering the same thing. She felt like there was another reason besides this being forced on her that she shouldn't be feeling this way for him, something very important, but she couldn't remember…

Then it hit her.

Alfred.

Instantly she bolted from the house, finding both a spot that with a good enough signal (unfortunately, the signal was strongest by the house, so she had to make do with what she can) and called him. Talking to him always worked before, right?

"Hello?"

Her heart leaped. "Hi, Alfred!"

"Oh hey, ________! What's up?"

"Oh you know, nothing much… how about you?"

"Same. But I'm a little surprised that's your answer. Aren't you on your honeymoon?"

"That doesn't mean something interesting has to be happening, you know! I was forced into this, remember?"

"Oh right, sorry." He laughed.

"Is that _________? Let me talk to her!" An eager female voice said.

"One sec, babe." He said, clearly talking to the voice. "Hey _______,  my girlfriend wants to talk to you. Is that cool?"

_______ nearly dropped the phone. Girlfriend?! He… has a girlfriend?"

"______? You still there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just uh… never mind. Sure, let me talk to her."

"Hey there, ______!  I'm Amelia, Alfred's girlfriend, obviously." She giggled. _______ could already see why he'd like her. 5 seconds into a conversation and she could tell he was like her twin. "I'm so glad to be talking to you! Alfred has told me so much about you! I'm sorry you got forced into an arranged marriage, that really sucks dude. But hey, now maybe when can go on double dates sometimes! Just because you're married doesn't mean you can't go out on dates, right?"

"Y-yeah… I'd like that."

"Huh? Are you okay? You sound sad…"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Look, I'm losing the signal, so I'll talk you to guys later, okay?"

With that, _________hung up the phone and sobbed, unaware that Arthur had been listening in on the conversation from a distance.