Exchange Experience ~England x Reader~

          “Hello, I believe you must be [Y/n] from the exchange program. I am Arthur Kirkland. It is a pleasure to meet you." Said young man took your hand in his and placed a kiss on your knuckles, before bowing his head.  He was dressed pretty formal, with a shirt and a checkered vest, with perfectly ironed pants and polished shoes. You couldn't deny that the young gentleman had a pleasing appearance as well. Blonde hair, emerald eyes, pink cute lips, but there was one particular feature that was drawing your attention.

          "The pleasure is all mine." You replied, unaware that your eyes were glued to his bushy eyebrows. Sometimes, something that is a little bit out of people's expectations of ordinary can capture your attention.

          "I don't want to sound mean, but it is kind of rude to stare at someone intensely. Especially when that person stays in front of you." Arthur coughed, snapping you out of your daze. You started excusing yourself, but he cut you off. "No worries. I got quite used to it. It is normal for people to get interested when something seems unusual, isn't it?" He let out a nervous chuckle and brushed a few strands of hair out of his eyes.

          "If my deep apologies have been accepted, how would you like me to show you around our city on our way home?" You beamed, relieved that you didn't miss your chance to make a good first impression. "Do you need any help with your luggage?"

          "Oh, love, what kind of a gentleman would I be if I let you carry my things? Have no worries! Which way are we going now?"

          You didn't know how well were you doing in front of your exchange partner, but he surely was liked by your parents. His vocabulary was wide and his speaking was fancy, not to mention his fabulous British accent. Also, he was very respectful and polite, offering to hold the doors open for you and making sure you were always alright.

          “Well, I hope that the room suits your liking, Arthur. Feel welcome to ask for anything you need.” You instructed him after showing him around the house and presenting him the guest room prepared for the arrival. “We’ll be serving some tea and biscuits in half an hour, so make yourself comfortable meanwhile. I’ll go see if my parents need a hand.”

          Arthur expressed his gratitude about all the fuss that was made for him before you reassured him everything was alright. He was a guest and guests are highly treated by the host. Coincidence be, everything was done just as 5 o’clock struck, the perfect time for some Earl Grey Tea and British cookies.

          Happily, you went over to Arthur’s room to let him know the tea was waiting for him, but as you popped your head in the doorway you saw him, back turned at you, holding a conversation with the visible empty space in front of him.

          “I know. I also have a good feeling about this. Heh, for once, I am glad I listened to Alfred.” He seemed to pet the thin air and let a soft giggle, which left you with more questions than answers. “Thanks for checking up on me. I’ll catch up with you later! Say hello to the fairies!” Arthur waved happily, before closing the open window in the room.

          You couldn’t process what just happened, so you were standing like an idiot in the doorway, staring once again at the British gentleman. He turned away from the glass and squeaked when he observed your form watching him, drawing your attention back to reality.

          “I’m sorry, I should have knocked…” You tried excusing yourself when the Brit cut you off.

          “I can explain! I’m not crazy!” The moment you gave him a questioning look, he motioned you to sit down next to him.

          Sighing, he unraveled a truth you weren’t sure you could yet believe. Your exchange partner claimed he was able to see and interact with different magical creatures, such as fairies, elves and other mystical livings. He said that there were friends of his that also had this abilities and promised you to share as much information to fulfill your curiosity on these beings. You must admit, he did wake up some curiosity in you, but something was saying inside that you weren’t going to regret the secrets to be revealed.



          “[Y/n], are you sure we won’t get in trouble if we get caught?” Arthur asked you, a tint of fear in his voice.

          “Yes, Arthur. I’ve told you three times already. It’s not like we are in a forbidden area… I prefer to call it forgotten.”

          You were dragging your British friend through the shelves full of old and dusty books. Some of them looked like they haven’t been touched in ages as some others had marks showing they’ve been picked up recently. Soon, an empty portion in the shelves cleaned off books came in sight. The wood panes have been removed and on the lowest level were placed some pillows and a blanket.

          “Sit. I’ll come in a second.”

          Arthur reluctantly obeyed, letting out a displeased grunt and watching you disappearing behind a bookcase. In a matter of seconds you returned with a bag of chips and a bottle of Nestea, taking a seat next to the Brit.

          “Now, that we’re all comfy and relaxed, do you mind explaining me what exactly is going on?” Arthur requested sarcastically, crossing his arms at his chest.

          “Come on, Artie, chill a little. Take a chip!” You popped the bag open and wormed a chip between his lips, earning an annoyed grunt from him. “The truth is, sometimes my classmates get too hard to bear with, so I withdraw in this part of the library. People seemed to have forgotten about it, so I made my little comfort zone in here. It is quite pleasant to spend your breaks in silence with a good book in a hand and a nice drink in the other.” You chuckled before taking a gulp from the ice tea.

          Arthur looked around the room observing the silence and lack of activity. He felt like his fears weren’t reasoned and glanced towards you, as if asking for permission to roam around.

          “Suit yourself!” You exclaimed, as though you were reading his thoughts.

         His eyes seemed to sparkle the moment he thanked you and went to search through the old books. In a couple of minutes, he was seated once again close to you, a green book with beautiful lacings on the cover in his hand.

          “I can’t believe you have this book in your library! I’ve been trying to find it for months!” Arthur blurted going through the pages.

          It was full with wonderful drawings of fairies, trolls, dragons, elves and other mythical creatures you only met in fairytales. Different texts and information were provided, as well as schemes, maps and graphs. Arthur’s enthusiasm began growing more and more as he was roaming through chapters.

          “I once encountered a water sprite like this one.” He pointed to a fairy like creature emerging from a lake. “They aren’t harmful beings, unless threatened. She was so joyful and didn’t seem scared to be in the company of a human. Moreover, she actually shared some of her stories with me.”

          It must have been a chance in a life time to meet a creature like that one and Arthur was lucky enough to encounter one of them. You started losing focus on reality as your imagination proposed you scenarios where you met yourself a sprite… Or even a fairy! Unaware you already drifted to daydreaming land, Arthur took your silence a sign of unbelief. Suddenly he closed the book with a loud thump and sat up.

          “How foolish of me… Of course you don’t believe me! Why would you? I’m only telling bedtime stories for kids.”

          “That’s not true!” You sat straight up, hitting your head on one of the shelves in the process.

          “No, it’s okay. You don’t have to lie for my wellbeing.” He gently patted the spot you hurt in the process of getting up. “I’ve always been the weird kid that still talks to his imaginary friends. That weird kid that still believes in magic and things like fairies and dragons. That weird kid that others thought he had social problems and has something to hide. And when you try to defend yourself, they call you bitter and say that you use sarcasm in order to show you’re better when you’re only just the scum.” Arthur’s nails dug deeper in the book’s cover as a need for crying made its way into his heart.

          “I’m not lying at all, Arthur.” You took a step closer to him and cupped his cheeks. It is true that I had my doubts at first when I saw you talking to your friend, but I never stopped believing in magic and mystical creatures. The fact that you had a chance to encounter them and create a connexion makes you more special than others could ever understand. People fear the unknown and the diversity, so they try pushing it away and calling it names. You are wonderful and the others can’t accept this. Keep fighting for what you believe in and keep close the ones who stood up for you.”

          You embraced him in a quick hug. But when you wanted to let go, not to make him feel awkward, his arms sneaked around your waist and he rested his head on your shoulder.

          “Thank you so much. For believing in them... For believing… in me…”



          “Thanks for the suggestions, Artie. I’ll borrow these then.” Arthur snorted at the nickname you gave to him.

          “Go ahead. I need to pick something else that caught my eye earlier and we’ll meet in the hallway.”

          You nodded in agreement and made your way through the shelves to the more populated part of the library. Students were roaming around, searching through the bookcases, studying at the tables or browsing the web at one of the computers. The librarian observed you coming towards the desk and smiled widely, recognizing you. For her, you were a regular.

          “Hey, watch where you’re going, kid!” Not paying attention to the ones around, someone bumped into you making you drop all your books on the floor.

          “I’m sorry you have those eyes as accessories and not for seeing!” You snapped back, kneeling to collect what you’ve dropped. But you didn’t have time as the guy who bumped into you grabbed the book you were already holding and dragged it forcefully.

          “Says who? The little kid who still reads bedtime stories? Who is interested in fairytales anyway?” He threw the book behind him and huffed. The librarian already got up from her seat to come in your aid.

          “I do!” From behind a shelf, in all his glory, was staying your British friend, glaring angrily.

          “You think you can stop me? With what, help from your huge eyebrows?”

          Arthur didn’t answer. Instead, he started murmuring some words in another language, reaching his hand in front of him, like he was making an incantation. The guy’s laughter increased as he threw some more insults at your friend, but that didn’t last long.

          The lights in the room began flickering and the ceiling lamps were swinging from one direction to the other. The books you’ve dropped started shivering, suddenly opening at different pages as creatures from it were being brought to life. The curious thing was, no other student seemed to have noticed what was going on, except the bully and yourself. It was like it was just an alteration of the reality only you took part in.

          “What the actual f is going on?” The dude screamed trying to run away from the now living mystical beings, stumbling a couple of times before actually managing to leave the library.

          The librarian was following him with her eyes, completely forgetting about you and Arthur.

          “Artie, this is incredible!” You exclaimed as what seemed to be a fairy landed on your finger and winked, then it went back to one of the fairytales books. Just as well, all the other creatures were returning to their original places, pages turning one after another. “I can’t believe how awesome that was! How? What?... I have no idea what to say! You truly are a wizard, and not just with words!”

          “I promised to show you some of my friends, didn’t I? A gentleman always respects his promises.” He bowed gracefully in front of you, before picking up your books and finally going with them to the librarian’s desk.

          “I’m wondering, how comes no one else saw them?” You inquired him as you were walking together to your next class.

          "Everything at its time, dear [y/n]. Everything at its time.”



          “Did someone cast a spell on you, because you’re absolutely charming!”
          “Arthur, put your wand away, you don’t have to duel. You’ve already won my heart.”