What if...

Das Epilogue~

Mattie and Alice had gotten into a fight. The state was curled up on her bed, clutching her pillow as she stared at the picture that they had took while back at the Island before she and Moldova had gotten lost. She was on his back, arms high up in the air and a bright smile on her face. Canada was hunched over to keep his girlfriend from falling, his face having his own closed-eyed grin. They were both wet from having swum, and the waterfall was cascading into the pool below.

It was her favorite picture of them. It had a permanent place on her dresser, and she would stop to admire it often. And now she was holding the frame tightly in her grasp, tears falling as all the memories were hurting her.

I guess… I guess he’s going to break up with me, huh?

This thought made Alice cry harder. She didn’t want to lose Matthew! She wanted to stay with him!

There was a knock on the door, startling Alice.

“Wh-who is it…?”

“Who do you think it is? Only a few of us have keys to your house, Alice.”

The Oregonian managed a smile as she slid off her bed and opened her bedroom door, revealing Kadi.

“My God you look terrible,” she said, her vivid green eyes flicking up and down Alice’s frame.

“Eh-heh…” Alice managed, tucking her hair behind her ear, her ahonge bouncing.

Kadi grabbed her wrist and pulled her into her room, dragging her down onto the bed. “You’ve been in here the whole time?”

Alice nodded.

“Figures. Now I want to know why you’re bawling your eyes out.”

Alice hugged her pillow. “Isn’t it obvious…”

Kadi sighed, rolling her eyes heaven-ward. “Yes, I know, you had a fight. But why are you in here, alone, crying? Shouldn’t you be working it out with Matthew?”

Alice looked away. “I doubt that he’d want me anymore…”

How surprised she was when she got slapped. Eyes wide, hand on stinging cheek, she turned to look at the short nation, and was slightly terrified when she saw that Kadi looked like she was going to murder someone.

“How can you think that?” she demanded. “Do you have any idea how torn up Matthew is right now?”

The American looked down. “W-well… N-no… Not really…”

“Exactly. I just came from there. Do you want to know what he told me, or, rather, showed me?”

“…”

Alice said nothing, but she was curious.

“He showed me a box. It was black. And velvet.”

Her green eyes slowly looked over at Kadi from the corner of her eye.

“It was about this big.” Kadi did hand motions to show an imaginary two inch by two inch by two inch cube. “And do you know what was inside it?”

Alice shook her head, looking back down at the bed.

“A ring. For you.”

Alice jerked her head up, eyes wide as she turned to look at Kadi. Her gaze flicked to one of Kadi’s green eyes to the other, looking for some sort of dishonesty.

But she found none.

“Y… You’re joking… Right…?”

Kadi shook her head. “No. I’m not. Now what you’re going to do is march right up there and talk to him. Got that?”