Pen Pals - Russia (Ch. 1)

You picked Russia!

You stared at the white, blue, and red striped folder in your hands. You had chosen the largest country, but also the one people were wary of.

Your grip had tightened when you heard laughter. It was from a kid named Rick. He had always loathed the country of Russia and when he had found out you adored it, well… let's just say you became his #1 target.

"Hahaha! (Name) had gotten the communist country!" You glare at him as Mr. Moe, your teacher, yells at him.

You look at him and begin laughing. He sneers at you as you double-over, trying to catch your breath. Once you do, you stand and look at him dead in the eyes.

"You know Rick; you'd be surprised about how great Russia is. But you're too ignorant to see it! You're too ignorant to see how great any country is beside America! But, let's face it. America is probably the most flawed country of them all. Yes it's wonderful, but really, the only thing that hasn't bitten us in the butt is our military! Oh, and by the way, Russia isn't communist moron!"

You sigh and turn to Mr. Moe, apologizing for your behavior, before walking to your seat in the back beside the window. You faintly hear Mr. Moe yell at Rick to go to the Principal's office as you sit next to your Japanese friend, Kiku.

He looks at you in concern as you slump down in your seat. "Are you okay (Name)-Chan? You've never stood up to Rick before. He must have mad you very angry."

You look over at him and nod, placing the Russian flag inspired folder on your desk. "I've just gotten tired of him bashing that country. I don't hate a lot of people, but he's the one on top of my hate list."

Kiku nods. He's seen what Rick had done to you since he moved to America when you were both in 7th grade. Now being a junior, that's 4 years of torment to go through. At one point, Rick had gotten physical. So naturally, Kiku taught you how to use a sword, so you've have a pair of Tanto's in your backpack.

"Well, he is a very easy person to hate." He looks up as the teacher calls his name. "You should get started on your letter. We wouldn't want your pen pal to get worried that he or she wasn't chosen."

You watch as he walks up to your teacher before glancing at your untouched folder. You stare at it, as if trying to open it telepathically. You finally give up and open it, seeing a simple note in it.

'So, are we supposed to put all the letters in here? Or is the folder simply a decoration… Oh well.' You sigh and begin to read the note, letter, thing.

'So~ His name is Ivan Braginski. He likes Vodka, sunflowers, reading, building snowmen, hunting, and dreaming. Dreaming? As in 'fanaticizing'? I can be guilty of that too.'

You close your eyes, thinking instead of dreaming, before grabbing a piece of paper from your (color) binder and begin to write.

'Dear Ivan,
My name's (Name) (Last Name)! I come from (Country/Place) but currently live in America, (Place). I had moved here for very complicated reasons. My mother and father were getting a divorce, and since they didn't want to be with each other, my father had moved here and brought me with him. Since I was only 6 at the time, I didn't know what was going on, but obviously now I know. Enough about me though, where in Russia do you live? Do you have any siblings? As for me, I do; One older brother in fact. He's 22, and is currently in the Air Force. He should be coming home soon since his 4 year contract is almost up. Oh! I just remembered, on the letter thing I had gotten, it said you like vodka. Are you old enough to drink? Even though I adore Russia and know a lot about it, I always seem to forget the legal drinking age. I just think my brain likes to torture me… Well Ivan, I have to turn this in now. My very flamboyant teacher will start to sing if I don't.

                                                                                                                                        Love & Rockets: (Name)'

You handed Mr. Moe your letter and hoped he wouldn't start to sing. You sighed, relieved that he didn't start to sing as he moved from you to Kiku. He wasn't a bad singer, he just gets a little… carried away is all.

You look at Kiku and see a folder with the Greece flag on it. You smile, knowing how much he loves to learn about other cultures.

You look ahead as the bell rings, signaling the end of school. You pack everything up and wait outside the door for Kiku.  As you were leaning against the wall you saw a shadow cover you. You looked up and noticed it was Rick.

"You little bitch, guess what you did." He growls, slamming a hand beside your head.

You frown. Your Tanto's were in your backpack which means they're unavailable at the moment. Unless you can get enough distance between you two, you might have to fight Rick hand-to-hand.

"Not talkin', huh? Well, I'll just tell you. I've gotten detention for the rest of the month. Since it's your fault, guess what's gonna happen." He puts his face right in yours, making your noses touch.

You look around, noticing the halls were deserted. You smirk and look back at him and whisper, "I kick your ass."

His eyes widen and you knee him in the gut. He stumbles back, clutching his stomach. He looks up, only to receive a roundhouse kick to the face. He slams into the lockers behind him and collapses to the tiled floor.

You walk up to him and pick him up by the collar, "Listen to me Rick. I'm tired of you bullying me. From now on, if you dare say anything bad about me, this will happen… ten times as hard."

You drop him and do a 180% turn to see Kiku looking at you proudly. You both share a brief smile before walking to Kiku's car.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~Le Time Skip~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

"Hey Kiku, what's the answer for number 23?" He looks up and sighs.

"It's -41 (Name)-Chan."

Currently, you and Kiku are at his house, doing homework together. Somehow you had ended up in Calculus with him and need his help on the homework- even though it doesn't really matter anyway.

"Kiku, (Name)~ I brought you some tea!" Kiku's mother steps into the room and hands you both some fresh tea.

"Ah, thank you!" You gently sip the green tea, Kiku doing the same.

"You wanna know something Kiku," You glance from your tea to your Japanese friend. "I've always considered your mother, well, a mother to me. She's helped me with many female problems… I'm grateful for that."

Kiku chokes on his tea. You had considered his mother like your own. That's huge! What if she sees you as her own daughter?! She might make him marry you. You! His crush for how long?

You stare at your spazzing friend quite worried. He only does this when something very big is going on in his mind. And that one time he had seen you in your bathing suit. He had turned away and gave you his jacket, it was very sweet~!

Anyway, you place a hand on his shoulder and gently shake him. "Kiku, are you okay?"

He stops and looks at you- face entirely red. "Of course (Name)-Chan. Why wouldn't I be? Now, if you don't mind, I must use the bathroom."

He stands and walks out of the room, leaving you to your thoughts and worries. Recently, Kiku has been acting very… different.

You sigh as you stand up, going over to his bed and flop down on your back. You stare up at his ceiling, trying to come up with some reasons as to why your best friend would be acting like this.

You gasp and fling yourself up, "No! Kiku couldn't like me! Could he?"

You groan and fall back down onto your back before turning on your side and curling into a ball. 'Does he like me? Do I like him too? He's done so much for me, it's only natural that I like him. But for him to like me… I can't think of any reason why. Kiku, you're impossible to figure out.'

You sigh and return to his desk- not wanting him to spaz out from you lying on his bed. You look up when Kiku sits back down beside you.

"Hey Kiku, why don't we take a break? We could go take a walk in the park and look at the blooming cherry blossoms."

He turns to you and smiles, "Yeah, that would be nice (Name)-Chan."

You return the smile before standing up and rushing out the door, "Last one there buys lunch!"

He sighs, sometimes you were too much. He smiles and chases after you, knowing who will win.