CHAPTER THREE:

Each room had been fitted with the names of its inhabitants along with their numbers, making it a bit easier for one to find his quarters. The Browning building was divided into three main floors. The first level housed the freshmen and some sophomores. The second level…sophomores and some juniors and the third level, of course, housed the juniors and seniors. The ground level contained the main lobby/recreation area and mini-cafeteria (where non-alcoholic drinks were served, thank you very much).

Trowa Barton, a junior and resident adviser for the freshmen, eyed his current burden. It seemed a bit surreal to him. He was actually leading the famous Heero Yuy to his quarters. He was to be his mentor. He was the envy of the entire junior and senior officials. Hiding a small smile, he wondered how any one could keep such a straight face at all the admiring glances, whispers and snickers that followed them around. Trowa decided that perhaps the young man was quite used to it by now. Heero had neither waved nor smiled or made any other motion of recognition to those that had tried to make conversation with him. The last words that had been uttered out of his mouth had been a curt ‘Good evening’ and a ‘I would like to be shown to my quarters now.’

Trowa hadn’t dared try to make conversation either. He was not exactly Mr. Talkative himself. He preferred to let his actions do the talking for him. Heero’s trunks and other items had already been placed in his room, so there was no need for them to wait for other luggage.

They made their way up the spiral stone staircase adorned with pictures of historical figures along side the walls and numerous trophies won by the school in various sporting and artistic endeavors. Trowa was used to the sight. Heero was impressed, although he did not show it.

They finally got to the freshman level, both boys having to step aside as other students tried to find which room belonged to whom. Like everyone else, Trowa knew about the family feud dilemma and was already well prepared for the next question that came out of his otherwise silent companion’s lips.

“Who are my neighbors?”

By this time, they had stopped in front of the black and gold solid oak door, complete with the words ‘Heero Yuy…Room 105’ blazoned on it. Trowa slipped out the electronic card pass that was to activate the doors (no keys in these parts), and passed it through the allotted slot. A light beep and then a green flash signaled the door opening, and with a soft grunt, Trowa ushered his companion inside the semi-lavish quarters.

“On your left is one by the name of Quatre Reberba Winner…” Trowa began, as he made his way towards the drawn curtains to open them up.

Lucky bastard. He has the view to the lake.


 

“I want them closed, thank you,” Heero interrupted calmly. He had not left his position beside the door. “Is this the Winner that owns the L4 Construction Services?”

Trowa nodded. “On your right, you have Wufei Chang. His father owns several schools for the martial arts around the L5 area. You might have heard of them.”

Heero nodded in acknowledgement. He had good companions, but where was…

“And Maxwell?” He asked curtly, his eyes never betraying the slight buzz of something he couldn’t quite define at the moment, tingle down his spine.

Trowa hid another smile and made his way out of the room. As he was about to close the door behind him, he replied coolly. “Duo Maxwell is staying right next to me.”

With that enigmatic reply, he left the dumbfounded Yuy alone with his thoughts.

~&~&~&~&~

In all of her fifty plus odd years, Mrs. Sims could safely say that she had finally fallen head over heels for a minor. And this minor happened to have hair that she would die for. She found herself blushing for the one-millionth time as the young man pinned those violet orbs on her visage.

“I am really amazed, Mrs. Sims. That dress really does complement your gorgeous eyes.”

She found herself deleting an entire sentence on the screen before her. “Oh, please stop, Master Maxwell. You flatter me too much. You really do. I am not that…that beautiful at all…”

“Oh, but you are!” Duo responded vehemently as if the poor woman had said the worst thing of the century. “You could be a model for one of those older magazines or something.”

Mrs. Sims wasn’t sure if that was an insult or not. Her musing on that sentence was cut short as the knock on the door broke the comfortable silence. She snapped her head around to take in the tall and slender young boy that had walked into the room. His light brown hair (which she could still never figure out) successfully cascaded down the left side of his face, effectively hiding one of those startling, dark green eyes.

“Hello, Mrs. Sims,” came the cool greeting. “I am here to pick up Mr. Maxwell.”

“Of course, Barton,” she chirped happily, although she was a bit sad at losing her enjoyable companion. “He is all yours.”

“Thank you.” Trowa turned his gaze upon the figure of his second charge. He found himself tightening his already folded arms against his rebellious body. He had seen pictures of Duo before, after all they were usually splashed across the socialite magazines, but never had he thought that meeting him up close was going to cause such a reaction within him.

The boy was simply…breathtaking, and he wanted nothing more than to run his fingers through that thick chestnut mane.

Composing himself, he coughed self-consciously and motioned for Duo to follow him. He watched, almost spellbound, at the smile that came upon the heart-shaped face. By this time, Duo had taken Mrs. Sims’ hands and was currently placing a light kiss on them.

“Adios, Mrs. Sims. We shall meet again!” And with a small bow, he followed the older boy.

Mrs. Sims was still in a daze at the feather light kiss she had received, her face a brilliant shade of red. She never heard the call until it came right next to her ear.

“Mrs. Sims!!”

“Oh, dear!” She jumped up, startled at the loud cry. “I am so sorry, Miss Bellum…what can I do for you?”

The younger secretary raised her eyebrows at the flushed look on the other’s face and she smirked softly. “Still can’t get over that Maxwell fella, huh? Anyways, you wouldn’t happen to have seen Master Yuy’s laptop now, would you? He said he left it in the main lobby and we have searched everywhere for it. Any ideas?”

Mrs. Sims frowned. Yes, Heero had said he had left his laptop there. Odd, there had never been a case of theft in their school before, at least not on opening day. This was highly unusual.

“Are you sure you checked everywhere?”

Miss Bellum sighed. “Yes, we have. It seems to have vanished and Yuy has been calling us for the past hour now. If I have to listen to that voice reprimand me over the phone again, I will go insane.”

“Oh, dear. I better tell Lord Byron about this then. This is not going to be good.”

~&~&~&~&~

Heero slammed the phone down and paced around his room like a caged animal. He needed his laptop. He glanced at the one already provided for him and grimaced. That would never do. He needed his trusty old companion. He was almost…powerless without it.

What was taking them so long? He had been calling for the past hour and all he had gotten was the same old ‘We are trying our best, Master Yuy.’ How in Kami’s name had his laptop disappeared? Who would want to keep or steal it away from him? Who would want to…?

He froze in his tracks, his eyes widening as a sudden thought crept in.

That fool…I bet he took it! Who else would?

But then again…why would he take it? Duo couldn’t possibly know that his laptop was his one weakness. Nobody knew that. Gritting his teeth, he stalked towards the desk and switched on the PC.

First things first, for right now he had to hack into the school files to find out what classes Mr. Maxwell had registered for. He was about to become his shadow for the next few months.

~&~&~&~&~

Unlike Heero, Trowa found himself liking Duo’s attitude. And who the hell wouldn’t? The guy was like an extra bundle of energy just waiting to be let out. He was cordial to those who had recognized him, although Trowa had noticed the way his body tensed up whenever he was indeed recognized. Duo’s curiosity was infectious and he found himself answering all the questions about the building and history of the school, whenever he was asked. Trowa hadn’t talked this much before and quite frankly his jaws were aching from the extra effort.

He prayed and hoped that Heero wouldn’t open his door at that moment. His heart nearly stopped as a door suddenly burst open…only to have the young man named Wufei bound out of the room like the devil was on his tail.

“Are you the resident adviser?!”

Duo and Trowa stared in mild shock at the harassed-looking being in front of them. “Dude…what’s the problem?” Duo asked, his mind already registering that despite the haggard look, the boy was sort of nice-looking. With jet black hair neatly tied in a small ponytail and eyes of darkest night set in the round pale face, he was quite the looker.

 Whoa! I am already checking out guys…hmm…probably thanks to that Quatre fella today. I almost asked him out for a date! I need to find a girl and fast!

“My name is Wufei Chang,” came the sharp retort. “Not dude and if you are indeed the resident adviser, I would like to borrow you for a few minutes.”

Trowa nodded. “What seems to be the problem?”

Wufei flushed in slight embarrassment. “Umm…I cannot seem to get my fireplace going…”

He glared at the snicker from Duo and tried to make a grab for him. Trowa unconsciously found himself blocking Wufei’s intended blow. “That will do, Wufei. Let’s go take a look at it. Duo…”

“Hey, don’t worry about me, buddy!” Duo replied cheerfully. “I will just keep on going and search for my own room, okay?”

Trowa frowned. He didn’t like the idea of Duo wandering around the hallways. Heero just might…

“Fine. But make sure you head straight for the end of the hallway, and then make a left. My room is the one with the cream colored door, yours is right next to it. Understood? Here is your room pass.”

“Gotcha!” Duo saluted smartly, before winking at the fuming Wufei. “See ya around, Wufei! Nice meeting you!”

A mumbled ‘pleasure’ was his reply and he chuckled lightly, watching as the door closed softly before him. Tucking the laptop securely beneath his blazer, his lips tightened again and he began walking down the carpeted hallway. He walked slowly, his eyes taking in the names on each door.

Room 100 – Ross Howard. Room 101 – Donald Rockefeller. Room 102 – Michael William Smith, Room 103 – Damian Sutherland, Room 104 – Wufei Chang, Room 105 – Heero Yuy.

Bingo!

He stood in front of the door unmoving, his eyes drinking in the gold-plated name. His nemesis. His tormentor, although he didn’t know it yet. Smirking devilishly, he whipped out a pen and small notepad from his pocket and balancing the precious laptop across his knees, he began to scribble down some words.

I have to make it all sinister like…to let him know I mean business…hmm…how about…

“I have your laptop, you son of a bitch…come and get it…?” He whispered to himself, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrated on getting it just right.

Naah, too soft. I have to make it really sinister.

“You good-for-nothing SOB. I will make you pay for…for what exactly?”

He scratched that out and tried again.

“If you want to see your laptop again…”

“Hi there! So we meet again!”

Duo jumped up at the loud voice (well, loud to him, since he was so focused on his death threats) and spinning around, he shot an irritated glare at the blond boy. “Good grief! Could you keep it down?! I am trying to do something here!”

Quatre looked sheepish and apologized. “I am so sorry…may I call you Duo? I am so sorry, Duo. I did not mean to interrupt your musings. What are you doing anyway?”

“Nothing important. Just jotting down some ideas.”

“Oh, really? Are you a writer? Or…”

Duo interrupted sharply. “Yeah! That’s it, I am just your regular old writer and now if you don’t mind…I have something very important to do.”

Quatre somehow did not get it. “This is Heero Yuy’s room. You would not believe my shock and surprise when I found out that I would be staying right next to him. I was so…”

“I bet you were,” Duo muttered out softly.

Finally, it sunk into Quatre’s head. “Oh, gosh! I forgot all about the…family feud…thing…”

“Is that a plate of cookies I see?” Duo interrupted again, as his eyes fell upon the sinful chocolate treats that he had spied in the other boy’s room. “Man! I am starved! Let’s go eat!” Hardly giving Quatre any chance to say something, he yanked on his arm and pulled them into the room, shutting the door firmly behind them.

Seconds later, a very pissed off Heero stuck his head out of his room. The commotion behind his door had woken him out of his restless doze and now he had come out to find no one in front of it.

Stupid morons! I can’t seem to get any peace around here.

And with a low growl of annoyance, he slammed the door shut again.

The door to Quatre’s room opened, revealing a cookie-carrying Duo (who had a few stuffed into his mouth at the moment) and a grinning Quatre in tow.

“So, do you need me to escort you to your room?” Quatre asked a bit too hopefully. He hoped that his admiration and worship of the elfin beauty before him wasn’t too evident. He would hate to squick the other boy out with his behavior.

Duo nodded absentmindedly. “Ees uookoees aff greff!” (Translation: These cookies are great!) He swallowed. “Who made them?”

Quatre blushed and shuffled his feet. “Umm…I did. I bake sometimes…”

“No kidding,” Duo gushed, his earlier threats of leaving a scathing message for the boy next door now out the window. “I wish I could cook…the maids and servants do that for me. You know something, Q-man?”

“No Duo, what?” Quatre asked, trying hard to ignore the warmth that flowed through him at the nickname.

“You and I could be really good friends,” Duo replied lightly, throwing an arm around the other boy’s shoulders and quite unaware of the effect it was having on the red-faced blond. He began leading them towards his own room all the while chitchatting away like a maniac.

Quatre secretly made up his mind to bake a whole load of cookies next time…just for Duo.

~&~&~&~&~

Heero rubbed a weary hand over his eyes before trudging wearily back to the computer. So much for sleep. Hacking into the school system was turning out to be a pain in the butt, but being the determined guy he was, he was stone set on figuring it out at all cost.

Now clad in a dark blue tank-top and light stonewashed jeans, he brushed away the stubborn strands of hair from his face, and with his eyes focused on the blinking screen in front of him, he gave it one last try.

Half an hour and several cans of Coke later, a soft cry of ‘Yes!’ was heard from the otherwise silent room. Finally, he had cracked the damned code.

“Opening files for Duo Maxwell…” he whispered to himself. “Hmm…”

The smiling picture of the future heir of the Maxwell Corporation glared back at him. He frowned as he took in the long chestnut colored bangs that framed the (this took a lot out of him to admit) beautiful face. Violet eyes stared back at him in mockery, those full lips parted slightly in a trace of a smile. Heero found himself wondering how Duo would look when angry, or excited or really, really happy, or…

He slammed the brakes on where his thoughts were heading.

Cursing himself for getting distracted so easily, he clicked on the icon that said ‘Courses.’

Please don’t let him have the really stupid classes.

The list scrolled before his eyes,  his lips mouthing each word out. “Advanced Calculus….check. English and Literature…check. Biology and Chemistry…check. Psychology??…damn it!…check. The history of the Renaissance…check. Horse Riding…of all the sissy sports…check. Swimming…check. Home Economics???…what the hell is he thinking?!…god help me…check. Basketball…go figure…check. The Economies of Interplanetary Alliances??…hmm…check. Drama?” At this point, Heero all but banged his head against his keyboard. No way in hell was he taking drama!

// I want you to take all the classes he is taking. ALL of them. //

And with a heavy sigh…

“Drama…stupid course…check. New records for Heero Yuy…registration of classes…no problem.”

With several more clicks and a few typed words, the hacker and all around good guy leaned back in his swivel chair with a smug look of satisfaction on his face. All that was left was to find the idiot’s room and then…

He couldn’t wait for classes to begin tomorrow.

~&~&~&~&~

Duo lay with only his black boxers on across the queen-sized bed, his violet eyes roaming across the intricate designs on the canopy above him. For today, the students would not have to adhere to any rules. Odd, in normal colleges they didn’t have curfews…he was in high school all over again. Quatre had stayed for a while, helping him unpack when Trowa had stuck his head in several minutes later asking if anyone was coming for dinner. Both had declined, being too excited about it being their first night in college and all, and besides the cookies had filled him up somehow.

He had found himself enjoying the blond’s company. Quatre had lots of stories to tell about his native Arabian people and both teens had spent the last few minutes rummaging through Duo’s extensive stash of CDs. To his amusement, Quatre liked music very much and Duo was pleased to see that some of his musical tastes were met with high approval. All in all, he had found a good friend on his first day.

He sat up quickly as he heard the tentative knock on his door. Jumping off the bed and not bothering to dress up properly, he yanked it open and came face-to-face with his mentor.

“Hiya, Trowa. What’s up?”

Trowa tried hard not to look at the well-toned chest and strong legs before him. Trying to keep his rapid heart rate under control and his voice as well, he answered coolly.

“I just came to remind you that you are to wake up very early tomorrow, and since the showers are quite some distance from here, you may use my own bathroom whenever you like. Just make sure you knock to let me know.”

“Gosh, thanks for the offer,” Duo replied, his eyes brightening with relief. He had wondered how he was going to keep dancing up and down the long hallway to the other end with only a towel on. This made things so much easier. “I really do appreciate it.”

“No problem. Oh and Duo…”

“Yeah?”

“Try to keep your door locked, okay?”

“Uh…sure…whatever you say. See ya, tomorrow!”

Trowa nodded in response before making his way back into his room. Duo shut and locked his door and then flopped back on his bed.

Trowa was pretty cool too. Too quiet…but cool.

Sighing loudly, he rolled onto his stomach and faced the still unopened black object with the glaring silver initials on it.

Thoughts of his earlier activities with Quatre and Trowa flew out the window, as his hands traced the italics. His lips mouthed the name softly, over and over again.

“Heero Yuy…you drive me insane and I don’t even know you…yet. But no matter, we shall finally meet tomorrow, ne? Face-to-face, man-to-man. Can’t wait, buddy. I just can’t wait.”

And with a smug smirk upon his visage, he pushed the laptop to the floor and curling himself into a fetal position, he closed his eyes in welcome sleep.