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*This is an aph high school AU fanfic, centered around Russia dealing with his problems at school, bullies, and his depressive thoughts. This is the first chapter, and I definitely plan on extending the story further! As the chapters go one there will probably be trigger warnings (self-harm and suicidal thoughts may be involved). Enjoy~*
CHAPTER 1

　　　　Ivan’s alarm rang. It was 6:45 A.M. He reached over, slamming it with the palm of his hand. A few minutes later he reluctantly got out of bed, rubbing his eyes as he walked to the bathroom. He had half an hour to get ready before he had to leave and walk to school with his sister.
“Another day.. I bet it will be the same..” He mumbled to himself as he flicked on the light and started to brush his teeth. Ivan stared at his face in the mirror while he did so. He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was scruffy, and his face overall just looked terrible. He grunted in dissatisfaction, rinsed out his mouth, and grabbed his comb.
　　After he made himself look better, he started to get dressed. He slid on some faded blue jeans, a worn shirt, and then his jacket and scarf. His clothes were old, and were slightly too small for him, but after his parents had passed away his older sister Katyusha was stuck trying to take care of Ivan and his younger sister Natalya. She worked several jobs and always came home late at night, and the money she made barely got them through the weeks. Long story short, they were poor.
　　Katyusha gave Ivan and Natalya their scarce lunch for the day and waved them off as they exited their apartment. Ivan held the door open and he and his sister exited the complex. She was wearing her usual dress and stockings with a blue ribbon tied into her hair.
“Were you able to get a new one?” Asked Ivan, pointing at her hair ribbon.
“Yes,” She said, smiling at him. “I did some chores for a teacher at school. He gave me some money, so I went to the shop and bought a new one.” Ivan returned her smile.
“It looks nice in your hair.”
　　He and his sister made small talk as they arrived at their high school. They entered together, not really having anywhere else to go once they entered the cafeteria. The other kids gathered in groups, talking to each other and eating breakfast, but Natalya and Ivan didn’t really have any friends to hang with. So, instead, they stayed by each other. Of course, she was in ninth grade and he was in eleventh, so they had to be separate throughout much of the day. They always waved at each other in the hallways, though, and sometimes confided in each other the details about their school day.
　　Soon the bell rang and the two had to go to their first period classes. Ivan held onto his backpack, sticking to the sidelines as he tried to get through the other people. He made it to his locker, putting in the combination and opening it. Of course, as soon as it was open, it was slammed shut.
“ ‘Sup, commie.” He heard a familiar voice remark. Of course, Ivan wasn’t actually from Russia; he just had a slight accent, considering his family had moved to America only a generation before. Despite that fact, it was still something people liked to pick on him about.
“..Hi Alfred..” He said, trying to put his combination in again, but Alfred’s hand rested firmly on his locker door. Obviously he wanted something.
“So, do you have any money today, or do I have to beat you again?” He said, giving the larger boy a smirk. Ivan may have been bigger, but he didn’t like to fight. So he was made an easy target.
“I never have money for you.” He said, ignoring the remark about getting beat up.
“Ah, that’s too bad, man!” Alfred said, leaning his back against the locker and sighing. “I guess me and you have a date after school, huh?” He patted Ivan’s back before walking off.
“Don’t skip out, dude.”
　　Ivan watched as Alfred made his way down the opposite side of the hall, feeling his mood sink again. He gathered his books from his locker, thinking about what Alfred might do. Last time he had been threatened like this, he was met outside of school by Alfred and a few of his friends. He was left bruised and battered in an alley near the school. He had managed to get home on his own, though Natalya and Katyusha interrogated him about his new bruises. He claimed to have just had an accident, and nothing else was said. His siblings didn’t need any more stress, he told himself, so he kept them from the truth.
“Why do they always pick on me?” He wondered to himself, walking to his class.
“I don’t have anything they want.. So why I am the victim? I always try to be nice to others..”
　　He peeked his head into the door of his first class. There were some boys sitting on the desks, girls gossiping and braiding hair. He took his seat in the back the room. He sat there, doodling flowers and cute things on his notebook paper before the teacher arrived and began their lesson.
　　

　　Ivan was finished with his first few classes, and the lunch bell rang. He walked into the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table, pulling out the lunch that Katyusha had packed him. A couple people joined him, but his table mostly remained empty; Matthew, Toris, and Eduard came and sat near him. Matthew was quiet and friendly, but not bullied since he was Alfred’s brother. Everyone else at the table had been tormented at least once though, and that brought them together.
“So, how has your day been?” Said Toris, glancing at Ivan and taking a small sip of his milk. Ivan shrugged in response.
“Not much different than usual.. Yours has been the same, yes?” Toris gave him a small nod.
“Asking me for quiz answers as always. I feel sort of rude to refuse them though.”
“That happens with me at least ten times a day!” Chimed up Eduard. He was the nerd of the school, or so they called him.“It just gets annoying.”
“I suppose I don’t mind it too much..” Toris responded as he began to eat his food. Matthew just watched and listened to their conversation, occasionally joining in. Thankfully, none of the more popular kids bothered them today. Usually they walked past and uttered an insult, to which none of them really answered to.
　　After lunch, it was Ivan’s study hall period in the library. Toris shared this class with him, along with a few others. Him and Toris usually spent the period chit-chatting while Toris read and Ivan doodled or studied for tests. He walked in and set his bag down at his seat, and Toris sat next to him. Ivan heard him sigh.
“Something is wrong, Toris?” He asked.
“..Oh.. Nothing.” Toris gave Ivan a small smile. “It’s not a big deal.. It’s just that someone took my lunch money again.”
“Aren’t you going to tell a teacher?”
“You wouldn’t tell either, Ivan. We both know that.”
“..Well.. I guess not. It isn’t like I would have the money to give, anyway.”
“Is your family poor?” Ivan felt his cheeks flush at the question. Though it was true, he was still embarrassed about it. People probably assumed that he was anyway, based on his scruffy appearance.
“..Um.. Yeah.. My big sister always has to give me lunch, because I can’t afford the school’s food.”
“Doesn’t your dad work?”
“..My father died last year.. Along with my mother..” Toris fell silent for few moments, giving Ivan a sympathetic look.
“Oh.. I’m sorry for asking, Ivan.. I didn’t know it was your parents that died.”
“It’s fine..” He replied softly, no longer feeling in the mood to talk now that he had been reminded of his parents. They hadn’t exactly been a happy family as Ivan was abused, but he still missed them. He would rather still be abused then be in the situation he was now. He hated seeing his older sister come home exhausted. She always had a smile on her face though, and always encouraged him and his sister.

　　Another couple hours later, Ivan’s anxiety was going crazy as the dismissal bell rang. He knew what he had coming to him, and he certainly wasn’t looking forward to it; though he didn’t really have a choice.
“I could just ignore them and take another way home..” He thought to himself, but soon dismissed it. If he didn’t put up with this today, Alfred and his friends would probably get back at him in a worse (and probably more humiliating) way.
　　So, he slung his bag over his shoulders, took deep breaths, and prepared for the worst as he slowly made his way to the back exit of the building. When he opened the double doors, as he expected, Alfred and his two friends Gilbert and Mathias were leaning against the brick wall. Waiting for him.
“Glad to see ya could make it,” said Mathias, and the three got up to surround Ivan.
“We had a pretty good time before, right?” Gilbert pushed Ivan against the wall, and Alfred threw his backpack to the ground.
“This all coulda been avoided if you just gave me your money, commie.” Ivan received a swift punch to his side.
“I told you I didn’t have any!” Ivan exclaimed, though it was no use.
“He’s probably just lying so that we’ll stop beating his ass.” The trio continued to beat him, and when he had finally been forced to the ground again, Gilbert grabbed Ivan by his hair and pulled his head up to be viewed by the other two.
“He actually looks a little better this way.” Mathias gave Ivan a kick to his ribs while they checked his pockets and backpack for his wallet.
“Pft, wow.” Said Alfred, resting his hand on his hip as he dumped the contents of Ivan’s backpack onto the ground. Ivan didn’t even have a wallet.
“I guess you weren’t lying. You really are poorer than I thought. That’s pretty pathetic, dude.” Gilbert let go of his hair and stood up. Ivan looked up as the three of them began to walk off, laughing about what they had done.
　　He just laid there, curled up in a ball on the concrete. There were a few blood stains from where Ivan’s lip had been busted open. His whole body ached all over; he had really gotten it bad this time. He attempted to sit up and was met with a sharp pain in his ribs from where Mathias had kicked him.
“I really hope I don’t need to go to the hospital..”
　　Ivan’s head turned to look towards the double doors as he heard them open. “This is the worst possible time for someone to come out here!”
　　A student walked out, someone in the grade above Ivan. He was twirling some car keys around his finger, presumably about to drive home, when he saw him lying on the ground. His eyes immediately widened and he ran over.
“My god! What happened to you?” He exclaimed, pulling Ivan up and resting him against the wall.
“You look like you’ve been-” The blonde looked over to see Ivan’s belongings spilled all over the ground.
“..Don’t worry about me..” He said softly, giving a weak smile and putting his hand against the brick wall to try and hold himself up. The guy supported him and then knelt down to help pick up his things.
“The students here are such savages.. I don’t see why they have to beat up innocent people.” Soon he had all the stuff zipped back into his backpack and stood up. “Would you like some help?”
“No, I’ve got it. Thank you..” Ivan reached over and strapped his bag over his shoulders, wincing at the extra weight it put on him. He touched his lip gently, checking to see if it was still bleeding.
“My name is Francis, by the way.”
“I’m Ivan.”
“So, why did they beat up a charming boy like you?” He said, pulling a napkin out of his pocket and dabbing at the blood on Ivan’s cut lip.
“I did not have any money to give them.” The older boy made a small “tsk” noise.
“So immature they are. They have no idea how to treat other human beings. It makes me want to slap them upside their heads.” Ivan gave him a small smile.
“Well, thank you for helping me.. I’m used to it by now, so I would’ve been okay on my own, though.” Ivan replied. His body still hurt all over, and he knew he would have a lot more bruises to cover up.
“Maybe this guy could be a new friend? He actually seems nice!” He couldn't help but think. The other students had never treated him this way before, except maybe for Toris.
“If anything like this happens again, try and find me.” Said Francis. “I’ll surely protect you.”
　　With a wink, the older teen walked off towards the school parking lot. Ivan gazed after him. He had never really thought of anything special about that guy before, except for the fact that he seemed like a princely character, always having at least one girl on his arm. Ivan composed himself for a little while longer before getting the strength to walk home by himself. He’d cover up the busted lip with another story, as he always did.

Description
*This is an aph high school AU fanfic, centered around Russia dealing with his problems at school, bullies, and his depressive thoughts. This is the first chapter, and I definitely plan on extending the story further! As the chapters go one there will probably be trigger warnings (self-harm and suicidal thoughts may be involved). Enjoy~*
CHAPTER 1

　　　　Ivan’s alarm rang. It was 6:45 A.M. He reached over, slamming it with the palm of his hand. A few minutes later he reluctantly got out of bed, rubbing his eyes as he walked to the bathroom. He had half an hour to get ready before he had to leave and walk to school with his sister.
“Another day.. I bet it will be the same..” He mumbled to himself as he flicked on the light and started to brush his teeth. Ivan stared at his face in the mirror while he did so. He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was scruffy, and his face overall just looked terrible. He grunted in dissatisfaction, rinsed out his mouth, and grabbed his comb.
　　After he made himself look better, he started to get dressed. He slid on some faded blue jeans, a worn shirt, and then his jacket and scarf. His clothes were old, and were slightly too small for him, but after his parents had passed away his older sister Katyusha was stuck trying to take care of Ivan and his younger sister Natalya. She worked several jobs and always came home late at night, and the money she made barely got them through the weeks. Long story short, they were poor.
　　Katyusha gave Ivan and Natalya their scarce lunch for the day and waved them off as they exited their apartment. Ivan held the door open and he and his sister exited the complex. She was wearing her usual dress and stockings with a blue ribbon tied into her hair.
“Were you able to get a new one?” Asked Ivan, pointing at her hair ribbon.
“Yes,” She said, smiling at him. “I did some chores for a teacher at school. He gave me some money, so I went to the shop and bought a new one.” Ivan returned her smile.
“It looks nice in your hair.”
　　He and his sister made small talk as they arrived at their high school. They entered together, not really having anywhere else to go once they entered the cafeteria. The other kids gathered in groups, talking to each other and eating breakfast, but Natalya and Ivan didn’t really have any friends to hang with. So, instead, they stayed by each other. Of course, she was in ninth grade and he was in eleventh, so they had to be separate throughout much of the day. They always waved at each other in the hallways, though, and sometimes confided in each other the details about their school day.
　　Soon the bell rang and the two had to go to their first period classes. Ivan held onto his backpack, sticking to the sidelines as he tried to get through the other people. He made it to his locker, putting in the combination and opening it. Of course, as soon as it was open, it was slammed shut.
“ ‘Sup, commie.” He heard a familiar voice remark. Of course, Ivan wasn’t actually from Russia; he just had a slight accent, considering his family had moved to America only a generation before. Despite that fact, it was still something people liked to pick on him about.
“..Hi Alfred..” He said, trying to put his combination in again, but Alfred’s hand rested firmly on his locker door. Obviously he wanted something.
“So, do you have any money today, or do I have to beat you again?” He said, giving the larger boy a smirk. Ivan may have been bigger, but he didn’t like to fight. So he was made an easy target.
“I never have money for you.” He said, ignoring the remark about getting beat up.
“Ah, that’s too bad, man!” Alfred said, leaning his back against the locker and sighing. “I guess me and you have a date after school, huh?” He patted Ivan’s back before walking off.
“Don’t skip out, dude.”
　　Ivan watched as Alfred made his way down the opposite side of the hall, feeling his mood sink again. He gathered his books from his locker, thinking about what Alfred might do. Last time he had been threatened like this, he was met outside of school by Alfred and a few of his friends. He was left bruised and battered in an alley near the school. He had managed to get home on his own, though Natalya and Katyusha interrogated him about his new bruises. He claimed to have just had an accident, and nothing else was said. His siblings didn’t need any more stress, he told himself, so he kept them from the truth.
“Why do they always pick on me?” He wondered to himself, walking to his class.
“I don’t have anything they want.. So why I am the victim? I always try to be nice to others..”
　　He peeked his head into the door of his first class. There were some boys sitting on the desks, girls gossiping and braiding hair. He took his seat in the back the room. He sat there, doodling flowers and cute things on his notebook paper before the teacher arrived and began their lesson.
　　

　　Ivan was finished with his first few classes, and the lunch bell rang. He walked into the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table, pulling out the lunch that Katyusha had packed him. A couple people joined him, but his table mostly remained empty; Matthew, Toris, and Eduard came and sat near him. Matthew was quiet and friendly, but not bullied since he was Alfred’s brother. Everyone else at the table had been tormented at least once though, and that brought them together.
“So, how has your day been?” Said Toris, glancing at Ivan and taking a small sip of his milk. Ivan shrugged in response.
“Not much different than usual.. Yours has been the same, yes?” Toris gave him a small nod.
“Asking me for quiz answers as always. I feel sort of rude to refuse them though.”
“That happens with me at least ten times a day!” Chimed up Eduard. He was the nerd of the school, or so they called him.“It just gets annoying.”
“I suppose I don’t mind it too much..” Toris responded as he began to eat his food. Matthew just watched and listened to their conversation, occasionally joining in. Thankfully, none of the more popular kids bothered them today. Usually they walked past and uttered an insult, to which none of them really answered to.
　　After lunch, it was Ivan’s study hall period in the library. Toris shared this class with him, along with a few others. Him and Toris usually spent the period chit-chatting while Toris read and Ivan doodled or studied for tests. He walked in and set his bag down at his seat, and Toris sat next to him. Ivan heard him sigh.
“Something is wrong, Toris?” He asked.
“..Oh.. Nothing.” Toris gave Ivan a small smile. “It’s not a big deal.. It’s just that someone took my lunch money again.”
“Aren’t you going to tell a teacher?”
“You wouldn’t tell either, Ivan. We both know that.”
“..Well.. I guess not. It isn’t like I would have the money to give, anyway.”
“Is your family poor?” Ivan felt his cheeks flush at the question. Though it was true, he was still embarrassed about it. People probably assumed that he was anyway, based on his scruffy appearance.
“..Um.. Yeah.. My big sister always has to give me lunch, because I can’t afford the school’s food.”
“Doesn’t your dad work?”
“..My father died last year.. Along with my mother..” Toris fell silent for few moments, giving Ivan a sympathetic look.
“Oh.. I’m sorry for asking, Ivan.. I didn’t know it was your parents that died.”
“It’s fine..” He replied softly, no longer feeling in the mood to talk now that he had been reminded of his parents. They hadn’t exactly been a happy family as Ivan was abused, but he still missed them. He would rather still be abused then be in the situation he was now. He hated seeing his older sister come home exhausted. She always had a smile on her face though, and always encouraged him and his sister.

　　Another couple hours later, Ivan’s anxiety was going crazy as the dismissal bell rang. He knew what he had coming to him, and he certainly wasn’t looking forward to it; though he didn’t really have a choice.
“I could just ignore them and take another way home..” He thought to himself, but soon dismissed it. If he didn’t put up with this today, Alfred and his friends would probably get back at him in a worse (and probably more humiliating) way.
　　So, he slung his bag over his shoulders, took deep breaths, and prepared for the worst as he slowly made his way to the back exit of the building. When he opened the double doors, as he expected, Alfred and his two friends Gilbert and Mathias were leaning against the brick wall. Waiting for him.
“Glad to see ya could make it,” said Mathias, and the three got up to surround Ivan.
“We had a pretty good time before, right?” Gilbert pushed Ivan against the wall, and Alfred threw his backpack to the ground.
“This all coulda been avoided if you just gave me your money, commie.” Ivan received a swift punch to his side.
“I told you I didn’t have any!” Ivan exclaimed, though it was no use.
“He’s probably just lying so that we’ll stop beating his ass.” The trio continued to beat him, and when he had finally been forced to the ground again, Gilbert grabbed Ivan by his hair and pulled his head up to be viewed by the other two.
“He actually looks a little better this way.” Mathias gave Ivan a kick to his ribs while they checked his pockets and backpack for his wallet.
“Pft, wow.” Said Alfred, resting his hand on his hip as he dumped the contents of Ivan’s backpack onto the ground. Ivan didn’t even have a wallet.
“I guess you weren’t lying. You really are poorer than I thought. That’s pretty pathetic, dude.” Gilbert let go of his hair and stood up. Ivan looked up as the three of them began to walk off, laughing about what they had done.
　　He just laid there, curled up in a ball on the concrete. There were a few blood stains from where Ivan’s lip had been busted open. His whole body ached all over; he had really gotten it bad this time. He attempted to sit up and was met with a sharp pain in his ribs from where Mathias had kicked him.
“I really hope I don’t need to go to the hospital..”
　　Ivan’s head turned to look towards the double doors as he heard them open. “This is the worst possible time for someone to come out here!”
　　A student walked out, someone in the grade above Ivan. He was twirling some car keys around his finger, presumably about to drive home, when he saw him lying on the ground. His eyes immediately widened and he ran over.
“My god! What happened to you?” He exclaimed, pulling Ivan up and resting him against the wall.
“You look like you’ve been-” The blonde looked over to see Ivan’s belongings spilled all over the ground.
“..Don’t worry about me..” He said softly, giving a weak smile and putting his hand against the brick wall to try and hold himself up. The guy supported him and then knelt down to help pick up his things.
“The students here are such savages.. I don’t see why they have to beat up innocent people.” Soon he had all the stuff zipped back into his backpack and stood up. “Would you like some help?”
“No, I’ve got it. Thank you..” Ivan reached over and strapped his bag over his shoulders, wincing at the extra weight it put on him. He touched his lip gently, checking to see if it was still bleeding.
“My name is Francis, by the way.”
“I’m Ivan.”
“So, why did they beat up a charming boy like you?” He said, pulling a napkin out of his pocket and dabbing at the blood on Ivan’s cut lip.
“I did not have any money to give them.” The older boy made a small “tsk” noise.
“So immature they are. They have no idea how to treat other human beings. It makes me want to slap them upside their heads.” Ivan gave him a small smile.
“Well, thank you for helping me.. I’m used to it by now, so I would’ve been okay on my own, though.” Ivan replied. His body still hurt all over, and he knew he would have a lot more bruises to cover up.
“Maybe this guy could be a new friend? He actually seems nice!” He couldn't help but think. The other students had never treated him this way before, except maybe for Toris.
“If anything like this happens again, try and find me.” Said Francis. “I’ll surely protect you.”
　　With a wink, the older teen walked off towards the school parking lot. Ivan gazed after him. He had never really thought of anything special about that guy before, except for the fact that he seemed like a princely character, always having at least one girl on his arm. Ivan composed himself for a little while longer before getting the strength to walk home by himself. He’d cover up the busted lip with another story, as he always did.