~ Down Time ~

Autumn had come, and the heat had finally dissipated. The leaves were starting to change colors. And it was finally bearable to be outside for more than ten minutes. The freshmen were finally starting to feel comfortable with their schedules and what they could and could not do with their time.

It was Friday afternoon at Dalton and kids were all over campus. Some were new faces visiting old friends. Others were loading up into cars for weekend road trips. Danny and Blaine had met up after their last class and had been hanging out all afternoon. They had tried calling Chris, but she wasn't answering. Which meant that she had locked herself into the art building. Which was the only place on campus that had terrible cell phone reception. It was as if they administration had implanted cell signal blocking things in the walls and ceiling when they built the building in order to keep their students isolated and focused.

Or it was just in a dead zone.
Either way, the boys started making their way across campus to the art building to find her. Once there, they realized the doors were inexplicably locked. But some students carrying tackle boxes with their names painted on them walked out and held the door open for them. They walked through the dark hallways. Danny showed Blaine where he was twice a week that he would come home covered in mud. They kept walking and found her in a computer lab and tried to go in to find that those doors were locked too.

"What is it with this place and locked doors?" Blaine asked as Chris hopped up and hit the wall by the door, which made the door make a popping noise, and the boys could enter. They walked in and saw that she had hit a big, round, red button on the wall with the word "exit" written in white letters on it.

"This place is like a military base." Blaine said as he looked around inspecting all the computers and other electronic equipment in the room. Danny sat down at the station next to Chris and scooted over in the roller chair to see what she was working on.


"What are my boys up to on this wonderful day?"

"We're done with class and were trying to find you to see what you were doing."


"I'm working on a dumb project. I have no idea how to use this program, so I've been up here for three hours now just trying to figure this crap out."
"When's it due?"


"Not for a while, but we have to use this program all the time, so I figured I'd play around now before I really have to know what I'm doing."

"So you can go hang out with us?"


"I can't believe you're running all macs in here! How are they networked?" A disembodied voice came from beneath a table. Chris and Danny gave each other a concerned look and then went to see where Blaine had buried himself.

"Please don't break anything. I really can't afford to pay for you to piddle with everything in here."


"No, I know. I don't think the three of us together could pay for it. But I'm pretty sure this system is destined for failure."
"Look, just because you hate Apples, doesn't mean they're bad computers."


"Except that I hate them because they're bad computers, not the other way around."
"Bad for you. Good for me."


Danny butted in at this point. "Aaaand we're done with this argument. Blaine, come out from the cord jungle and let's talk about what we're going to do tonight."
"Ok. Ow!" Blaine hit his head on the way out from under the desk.


"Well, wherever we go, it has to involve food. This girl skipped lunch and she is starving!"

"Hey! Why don't we go the Cosmic Digital Zone?"


"No offense, Blaine, but Danny and I would also like to have fun tonight..."
Danny laughed and Blaine gave him a semi-dirty look.


"No, it's not just for me. They have an arcade and laser tag and food and coffee and, yes, computers, but it's like a grown up version of Chester's."

"How do you know of this place? Did you go without us?" Chris inquired.


"No, I would have known about it. He's either been in class or in our room."

"No, some of the guys in my classes were talking about how disappointed they were in it; how they were mislead to find out it was just a place for people to play."


"Disappointed?"
"Yeah, they were hoping for a quiet internet cafe, but were wrong. But it sounded fun to me, so I looked it up online. It's also open pretty late, so we can hang out there for a good, long while."


Danny and Chris looked at each other and shrugged.
"That's fine, but I'd really like to work some more on this before leaving, and I'd like to get ready. How about you pick me up at my dorm lobby at 6?"


"Yeah, that's fine. See you then!"
Danny and Blaine picked up their bags, and tried to leave, but found the door to be locked from the inside too.


"Hit the exit button first."

"It's like you're in prison."

"No joke. See you guys later."
The guys walked back to their dorm. Blaine walked over and turned on his computer, like always, and Danny set his stuff down and started taking off his clothes. He grabbed his shower stuff, and headed to the bathroom.


After Danny finished, he came back to their room, and turned on the tv and started watching in his towel.
"Are you becoming a naked boy? Because I may have to switch roommates if you are..."


"No, just drying off. Plus, I still have my towel on."
"Yeah, leaving the towel on is just the first step on a long journey ending in walking around everywhere naked."


"Don't worry... I'll only watch my cartoons naked when you're gone..."

"I'm never sitting on that futon ever again..."


After that, Danny went back to his television. He quickly fell asleep on the couch. He was awoken by Blaine telling him he needed to get dressed if they were going to get Chris on time. Danny sat up and his head was swimmy. He blinked a few times and got his bearings before getting dressed. He grabbed his jacket and he and Blaine opened the door to leave. And there stood a despondent Zane about to knock on the door. All three looked at each other awkwardly.

"Um, hi... Zane..." Danny said, with Blaine behind him with his mouth slightly opened.


"Hey guys..."
"...What's... goin' on?" Danny said, still trying to figure out what was going on. Blaine still had his mouth open.


"Um... I was... coming... to see what you guys were doing." Zane sounded like he was already regretting asking.

"We were about to pick Chris up and head to Digital... something or other..."


"Oh..." Zane looked mildly disappointed. "Well, I guess I'll let you be, then..." And he turned to leave.
"Hey Zane, if you want, you could go with us..." As soon as Danny said this he felt a sharp jab in his ribs. But Zane turned back around, almost beaming.


"Yeah? Ok, Well, let me go grab my coat. I'll meet you in the lobby in 5!" And Zane took off down the hall and into the stairwell.

"Danny, what are you doing?"


"What do you mean?"

"Do you know who you were talking to? Zane Atkins. The boy, who up until just recently made our, more specifically your, life hell. He picked on us, degraded us, threw you into lockers and trash cans."

"And?"

"And you just asked him to go hang out with us."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Danny had to think about this for a moment. "It's something in his eyes... He doesn't seem like the same guy we knew back then. He seems broken, somehow."

"Broken."

"I can't explain it. He said he did some soul searching over the summer, and I think he's really changed."

"When did he say that?"

"A few days ago at lunch."

"You ate lunch with him?"

"Yeah, well I was sitting there reading for my lit class, and he came up and asked if he could eat with me. I said yes. We had a good hour long chat."

"You ate lunch with Zane. On purpose..."

"Yes. What is your deal?"

"My deal is that I can still remember the torment he put you through. And how he consistently got away with it because he was the schools golden boy. The bruised arms, the black eyes, the being confined to tight spaces for long periods of time..."

"Ok, I get it. You don't like him. But do me a favor. For one night, cut him some slack. Please? For me?"

"Fine."

"Good. Thank you. And if you still hate him after tonight, I promise you won't have to hang out with him ever again."

"And I reserve all 'I told you so' rights for in the future."

"Fine."

At this point, they had made it down stairs and were waiting by the front doors when Zane walked around the corner putting on his jacket. He looked at the two boys and smiled, and they were off to get Chris.

At the dorm, they all got out and waited for her to come down to the lobby. She came down stairs and was taken aback by the fact that their former rival was standing there with them.

"We have found a stow-away." Danny said to ease the tension.

"So I see..."

Once outside, Chris claimed her girl shotgun rights, and Blaine and Zane climbed into the back seat. And they were off.

On the way, Danny and Chris chatted about mostly nothing, as friends often do. Danny kept checking his rear view mirror. Blaine was trying to keep as far away from Zane as he possibly could. Zane was more just watching the others interact. Though, one of the times he looked back, he caught Zane's eye and Zane had a huge grin on his face for no reason. Danny caught himself staring. He then looked back at the road and was glad it was dusk out, so no one could see him blushing.

Just then, a song came on and Chris freaked out and cranked up the volume and screamed "I love this song!" And all three of them started jamming out in the car to the song. Zane initially was shocked at the sudden outburst found himself moving almost involuntarily.

After the four minutes and forty-three seconds of song were over, Chris calmly turned down the music. All four had huge smiles on their faces.

"Who was that just then?" Zane asked, leaning forward, between the seats.

"Company of Thieves... you heard of them?" Danny answered, looking at him in the mirror.

"No I haven't... are they new?"

"Well, kinda... not really... why?"

"Well, I just hadn't heard them on the radio yet. That's generally the reason why."

The three kids snickered. Zane looked around, wondering if he had said some faux pax.

"Most of the stuff we listen to won't get played on the radio." Chris said, explaining.

"But...why? They're really good..."

"There's a lot of great music out there that won't get played on the radio."

"But... how do you find it all?"

"That's kinda the point. Finding great stuff and sharing it with friends."

"But why isn't it on the radio?"

"Well, some of it is because they are unsigned bands, or just really underground. Some choose to go about it in non-traditional ways. Though, a lot of them wouldn't really be understood by the average radio listener. Though, there are some really good stations that play obscure music, but you gotta know where to find 'em."

"How do you find them?"

"Um, usually the internet. Or live shows. I think Danny's the one who found them, right Danny?"

"Uh, yeah... A friend from Idaho tuned me into them."

"You know people in Idaho?"

"Well, not in real life. But I know internet people from all over the globe."

"And you all talk about music?"

"Amongst other things, yes."

Zane sat back to absorb all of that information. A few minutes later they arrived at a giant neon warehouse with deep bass resonating through the parking lot. The four of them stood with mouths open, basking in the bright, colorful lights.

"Blaine, what have you brought us to?" Chris said in awe.

"Someplace amazing!"

And the two of them headed to the door. Danny noticed and nudged Zane, and they followed behind. Once inside, there were no normal lights. Everything was either neon or black lights. There was a ramp leading from the door up to the main level made out of glass bricks, with running lights that looked like water running. The hand rail would glow wherever someone touched, then would fade away.

They got to the top of the stairs and Chris turned around and stopped them. She had a very serious look on her face, which quieted down the three boys.

"Now, boys. First things first. We eat. Blaine, you lead us to the eatery."

"I don't know where it is. This is my first time here, too. Though, it smells like it's over that way." And pointed behind Chris' left shoulder. Danny laughed.

"Ok, Toucan Sam. Follow your nose to the cantina."

Blaine shot him a look, but took off in the direction of the restaurant. It was self-seating, so they found themselves a big booth covered in planets and lightning bolts. They looked over the menu that was full of normal foods with terrible names. It quickly became a contest of who could find the worst name ever. Then the server came over. He was tall and skinny and his uniform looked like a soda jerk from the 1950's. He looked less than thrilled to be there, until he saw that it was a bunch of kids his age sitting at his table.

"Oh, thank God you guys are normal."

"Um, you're welcome?" Chris said.

"No, it's just... I'm tired of dealing with children and their obnoxious parents all day long. It's nice to serve someone I could have a conversation with."

"Ah yes." Chris said as well.

"Anyway, you guys need some more time with the menus?"

"Um, I think we're good... but only if we don't have to use the actual names of the stuff in here." Blaine said. "Like, for instance, I want a cheeseburger. Maybe some fries..."

The server boy got this look on his face of absolute relief. "I'll get you free drinks and possibly a discount if you can order your entire meal without using those names."

So the four of them tried their hardest to order without using the terrible names, but it was a lot harder than you'd imagine. They sat around and talked a bit, but the music kinda made it difficult to hear, so they had to keep repeating themselves in order to be understood. Though, the misunderstandings made for interesting conversation as well.

Then the food came, and they ate, mostly in silence. Once they weren't absolutely hungry any more, they started chatting again. They finished, and paid (which had been reduced, and no drinks added), but sat at the table for a little while longer trying to let the food settle before taking on the massive game room. They all stood up and started walking around, seeing everything there was to do, and trying to figure out how big the place actually was. There were two levels of games, but no stairs. It was all ramps that looped around each other. Every path was some sort of incline, but all the gaming machines were on level surfaces.

Beyond that, was a big chamber that looked like a cover for a combat/warrior video game. Blaine and Zane's eyes got huge and they both said "laser tag..." in unison. Chris and Danny just looked at each other.

They went and paid for laser tag, and registered their names and were standing around waiting for their round to come. Then they noticed that there was a flock of little kids waiting with them. The parents of the kids were also standing around looking at the four older kids, and started whispering to each other.

A little while later, before their round started, another employee, who looked like death warmed over, came over to them and pulled them aside.

"Hey guys. It seems the parents of the kids are complaining..."

Chris was the first to be indignant. "Complaining about what? We were only standing there!"

The employee just looked at her. "They say that with you guys in there, it won't be fair for their little brats. They're asking for you to be removed from the game."

All four of them gave shocked looks.

"So, if you're ok with this, we're willing to let the four of you go in alone after them, for an extended game and another free game after that."

They were ok with that.

So, while they sat and waited for the little kids to finish their game, they talked about teams. Instantly Blaine called Chris, and Zane shot Danny a confused look. So Danny explained.

"Chris is insanely good at this game. Whoever has her on their team is almost guaranteed to win. No one can touch her. And she can hit someone across the room. She... defies physics. It is the most frustrating thing to be against her."

Zane nodded and looked at Chris who was basking in the compliment. Mainly because it was true.

Then their group was called and they went into the chamber to get their guns and vests and to go through the instructions. Then the gate opened, and they were released into a giant smoke filled chamber. Like outside, there were multiple levels with ramps going up and down to each. It was basically a giant maze inside with mirrors and smoke and little hiding places. And the game was on.

After what seemed like an eternity, the buzzer sounded, and four hot, sweaty, and tired kids emerged from the chamber. They all had to sit down on a ledge while they waited for their scores. Then the employee came around with four sheets of paper with their stats printed on them. Of course, Chris won by a landslide. Zane and Blaine started comparing scores. They were very close, but Zane came out the victor by a few points. Danny, of course, was last. He enjoyed the game, but never got too high of scores. But he was ok with that. And so were his competitors.

The employee also gave them four small, round, wooden tokens for another free round later.

"By the way, most of these little kids will clear out after 8, and this place becomes a lot more fun, I promise."

They said thanks for the advice and free game and headed over to a smaller refreshment stand to get some water and sit down for a bit. Blaine and Zane continued talking about the game and how they had seen the other performing something amazing. Danny was only half paying attention. He was more just lost in the moment and enjoying the company.

They sat down at a table with their waters and sat in silence for a while. They were all pretty hot still and trying to use anything within reach to cool themselves off; like using a stack of napkins as a fan. Zane took off his coat to help him cool off. His shirt, moist with perspiration, clung to his body. Danny noticed, probably for the first time, how athletic his build really was. He realized he was probably staring, so he looked quickly at the table and blushed slightly. He looked up to see Chris giving him a strange look. He blushed and smiled at her. No one else seemed to notice.

After a while, Blaine started getting restless. "Ok, time for round two of laser tag?"

Zane got excited, but then Chris said "Danny and I are gonna sit this one out, you guys go on without us. We're gonna go to the cosmic coffee bar, so meet us there when you're done."

"Alright, c'mon Zane."

Zane then turned to Danny and asked if Danny would watch his coat. Danny found it difficult to speak, but nodded and took his jacket. Zane ran off to find Blaine. Chris grabbed Danny by the arm and dragged him to the coffee line.

They ordered, got their beverages, and sat in secluded and semi-quiet place.

"So start spilling!" Chris said, out of the blue.

"About what?"

"About Zane, ya goof!"

"What about him?"

"Well, you can start with why he's here, but really, if you want to jump right to the part where you're making goo goo eyes at him, that's fine too."

"Was not making goo goo eyes at him. I don't even know what goo goo eyes are."

"Yes you do. You used to get the same look on your face when Jennifer walked into the room."

"Whatever."

"Ok, fine. Go about this the hard way. Why is he here with us?"

"Because he asked to go."

"From what I heard, it was more of an invitation to come."

"When did you hear that?"

"During laser tag, when we were kicking your butts. Blaine told me the story of him showing up at your door, and you invited him to come."

"Ok, so I asked him to come along, so what?"

"So what? You forget what he did to us? To you?"

"Yeah, that's what Blaine said."

"And it's not bad to keep it in mind."

"Yeah, well, I think he's different."

"Different? It's been a month..."

"Yeah, I know, but..."

"But...?"

"I had a conversation with him about a week ago during lunch. He wanted to sit with me. He was nice to me. He told me personal stuff that he'd really rather not talk about, especially to me. I think he's lonely... I mean, with Thi and Jenn hooking up, and him not fitting in with the football team, I think he's looking for friends."

"You do know you have no reason to be nice to him. You could let him suffer like we suffered."

"Yeah, but honestly, having gone through that, would you wish that on anybody?"

She thought for a minute. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But still..."

"Look, if this ends badly, Blaine has already reserved 'I told you so' rights and you are more than welcome to invoke them too."

"Oh, I will. Though, I doubt I'll use them."

They sat for a moment and enjoyed their coffee.

"Ok, now on to goo goo eyes."

"There are no goo goo eyes!"

"Oh, there are goo goo eyes..."

"Ugh. Whatever."

"Look, I saw how you looked at him when he took his jacket off."

"I did no such thing..."

"Oh, right. You blushed, you lying, lying cow."

"Whatever, I was hot and flushed."

"...about seeing a boy."

"About... we just got out of playing laser tag."

"Ok. Then explain why you kept staring at him in your rear view mirror..."

"I was not."

"You looked back there like 14,000 times..."

"Yeah, checking traffic. He just happened to be in my line of sight."

"There were no cars behind us the whole time. And I know your driving, you never look back. Ever."

"Whatever."


Chris sat there, and stared at her drink intently trying to find the right words. Danny was kinda nervous about where this conversation was heading. But the anticipation was worse.

"Ok, Danny. Tell me straight up. Do you like Zane?"

"What?"

"Are you attracted to Zane?"

Danny just looked at her, trying to choose his next words very carefully.

"I......don't know..."

Chris smiled at Danny and he felt a little better.

"If it makes you feel any better, he's been staring at your ass all night..."

Danny gave her a look of "that's not funny".

"No, I'm serious! Though, I don't know his motives for it, but he did look a bit guilty..."

Danny pondered this for a bit and audibly said "hmm...".

"You do like him!"

"Shut up..."

"Danny, it's ok... If you like him, you like him."

"If only it were that easy..."

"Danny, it is that easy... either you like him or you don't. Let everyone else worry about everyone else..."

"Because that's possible."

Chris chuckled. Then continued. "So, does this mean you're playing for the other team, now?"

"It doesn't mean anything. I don't like him."

"But you're open to the possibility of liking him?"

"I...don't know..."

"Well, that's a start..."

They sat there for a bit, and Chris started putting pieces together.

"Is this why you gave up on Jennifer?"

"Is what why I gave up on Jenn?"

"The fact that you don't know if you like boys."

"Um, no?"

Danny tried to pass that off, but Chris just gave him a look.

".....not entirely."

"Explain."

"I... just realized that if it comes down to me and Zane, she'd pick Zane. And if it came down to me and just about anybody else, she'd pick anybody else. And I couldn't keep wasting my time pining over something that'll never happen."

"So, you switch from Jennifer to Zane? Because that's so much more likely..."

"I don't like Zane!"

"Sure you don't."

Danny gave her the look this time.

"What? He's cute. I mean, sure, he spent most of high school cramming you into uncomfortable spaces, but man, is he ripped..."

"Uh huh... who likes Zane now?"

"Hey, a girl can look, but not touch."

They both finished their coffee, but wanted more, so they both went back and ordered again. Once they got their drinks, they sat back down again.

"Danny... what's keeping you from knowing?"

"Knowing what?"

"You said you didn't know if you liked boys or not..."

"Oh. Why do you care so much?"

"Because, Danny, you're my best friend, and I hate to see you in turmoil. Even if it's usually mostly self-inflicted."

"It is not self-inflicted."

Another look from Chris.

"Ok, it is mostly self-inflicted. But I don't know... I mean, this isn't exactly 'what am I gonna wear today?' This is life altering stuff, here..."

"Its life altering only if you make it life altering."

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one."

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds... that you should really hear what people have to say about gay people when they think no one can hear them. Or what my family says. Or what my church says... If this is true, then I'm gonna lose a ton of friends back home... probably be disowned... I mean, the list goes on."

"Ok, if they really leave, they aren't really your friends in the first place. Second, families can be harsh, but I know your parents, they won't disown you. And if they do, you can be in my family. I know they will love you regardless."

"Thank you."

"So?"

"So what?"

"Do you?"

"This isn't going to be something decided one night in an arcade..."

"Fair enough. And we should change topics, because look who's back..."

A sweaty Blaine and Zane sat down and were looking at their scorecards and comparing stories. They also both took turns going and getting cold drinks from the coffee bar. And they came back and started talking about the game and how much they dominated. After the two boys had cooled down, they were ready to take on the arcade.

At first, they found a big four person shooter game that they quickly took hold of. But after a while, once they all died off a couple of times each, they decided to call it quits on that one, and see what else was available.

Chris and Danny started playing some sort of RPG, but lost very quickly, and gave up to look for Blaine and Zane. They found the two of them playing another shooter game. They were actually doing pretty well, so Danny and Chris sat back and watched them play. They were doing really well, but then Blaine started getting cramps in his shooting hand, so he asked Danny to take over to work it out. And, as it turns out, Danny and Zane made a pretty good shooting team. So Chris and Blaine slowly backed away and watched them playing from a distance. The two playing didn't even realize it. Pretty soon, though, Blaine came up and started talking to Danny. It was during a cut scene, so Danny was free to listen.

"Hey Danny, did you want to play your free game of laser tag?"

"Um, why?"

"Well, Chris wanted to play, and if you weren't going to use it, I was wondering if I could..."

"Oh, sure."

Danny pulled out the wooden token and handed it to Blaine, then grabbed his gun to shoot more zombie invaders. The two others left to go play leaving the boys to their game. Zane ended up dying a little while after that, and had run out of money on the card that you had to get to use the gaming machines. But Danny was on a roll, so he flew solo for a while, with Zane right there cheering him on.

While playing the game, Danny felt a little pressure right above the small of his back. He couldn't figure it out at first, but then realized that Zane had shifted and had inadvertently put his arm around Danny. Danny felt the blood drain out of his face, and he couldn't concentrated. And then he got slashed up by a zombie, and his game was over.

"Hey man, you were on a roll! I didn't know you were so good at these games."

"I'm usually not... I guess I just got a winning streak going."

"Hey, look! You got the #9 high score!"

Zane was really happy about that for some reason that Danny couldn't comprehend. But for some reason it made him happy too. So he put in his initials and they walked away.

"Hey, looks like I'm out of money on my card..."

"Yeah, me too... It's why I couldn't join you at the end of the last game..."

"I wondered why you left. So what's the game plan? You wanna go reload our cards, or... something else..."

Zane smiled at Danny, and Danny realized how much he like his smile for some reason. He then blushed and tried to play it off.

"Actually, I kinda want to get out of the noise for a little bit. I'm kinda getting a headache. I mean, if you don't mind..."

This time Danny smiled at Zane.

"Oh right. I'm going to make you stay out in the loud noise with a headache. Let's go back to that cafe... It was pretty quiet in there."

And off they went. They sat at the same table as before, when Chris and Danny were there. 

They sat in silence for a good long time before Zane broke the silence.

"Danny, I really want to thank you for tonight. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun."

"Hey, sure man. No problem. I'm glad you came."

"I'm...actually... kind of surprised... your friends are so pleasant with me..."

"Yeah, well, they were kind of surprised I asked you to come."

"Why...why did you?"

"Ask?"

"Yeah."

"Um... well, honestly, it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time..."

"Oh." There was a long pause. "Wait, out of all the things you could have done, that was the right thing to do?"

"Um, yes?"

Zane gave Danny a funny confused look, so Danny explained further.

"Well, I figured that Thi and Jenn were probably out somewhere making out, and you didn't really want to see that again. And these places are a lot more fun with even groups that odd, so..."

"Then how come you didn't ask Christine's roommate to go?"

"...well, we weren't originally planning on asking a fourth, but since you were there, and needed a place to go, it just seemed right."

They both sat there, drinking their respective beverages, content to sit and say nothing. Except they kept looking at each other, and for some reason, it felt kind of awkward, so they kept looking away and laughing. It was about this time, that he realized that they were being watched from behind a fake topiary shaped like a rocket.

Danny leaned over and spoke quietly to Zane. "Don't look now, but we're being hunted..."

Zane looked around and saw what Danny saw. "Maybe their vision is based on movement. We should stay as still as possible..."

And so they froze in their position, and watched the bush shake a bit, and Chris and Blaine emerged from behind it and sat down, laughing.

"Damn. My idea of sight-based movement was just off..."

Chris and Blaine laughed a little, though, not knowing what he meant. But Danny laughed just the same.

They sat and talked for a while longer, then played more video games. And once they were sufficiently tired, they decided to call it an evening and head home. They dropped Chris off first, and she gave Danny a big hug, and whispered "We'll talk later" to him, and was off to her room. The boys ended up at their dorm and slowly made their way in the front door. Zane started walking towards his room, turned and said, "Thank you. For everything..."

Danny smiled sleepily at him. "No problem man. It was fun."

"See you guys around!" And Zane was off to his room.

In the stairwell, Blaine looked at Danny and said, "You were right. He has changed. He was fun tonight. I'm sorry for doubting your judgment."

Danny smiled and punched Blaine in the arm.

~ Three Weeks Later ~

Danny was sitting in the cafe reading a book and staring at his plate. He had an hour before his lit class and he had about another 100 pages left to read. He was eating alone, but not because he needed the solidarity. He sat his book down and poked around in his food for a bit, before taking a few bites, then going back to reading. He shifted uncomfortably. He had been in the same spot for almost 45 minutes reading and his legs were getting sore. He picked his book back up and kept reading.

He heard his last name being called, but he was so engrossed in the story, it passed by with only the faintest hint of acknowledgement. Then he heard it again, but this time it was a little bit longer, and a bit more concerned. And then Danny realized someone was trying to talk to him, so he looked up. Zane was standing there, looking down at him, smiling.

“Welcome back to the planet, Elliot.”

“Why thank you. It is a lovely place, and I think I will stay here for many, many years.”

Zane chuckled a bit, and Danny smiled. Danny couldn’t remember the last time they had witty banter like that that didn’t end up with him in a trash can or in a locker.

“Hey, you mind if I sit with you?”

Danny was initially shocked, but then said “sure” and started moving his stuff around so that Zane had a place to set his tray down. Danny looked at his book to remember his place, put in his bookmark, and set it on the chair next to him.

Danny looked at Zane’s tray and saw he had two plates of stuff and five glasses of various liquids that were all different colors. And they appeared to be arranged by hue, but that was probably just a coincidence.

“I know what you’re going to say. But the drinks are free, and they just leave the glasses out there. Plus they are tiny, so instead of getting up 18 times in a meal, I just get a bunch from the get go.”

“No, I totally understand. I’m just stoked the blue stuff is out. It wasn’t when I went through… Excuse me…”

And Danny got up and got a few glasses of this blue punch drink that no one really could determine what exactly it was. But everyone loved it, and it was usually gone right after it was put out. Danny came back and sat down in his chair.

“So, am I taking Chris and Blaine’s spot here?”

“Oh. No, I’m here alone, as usual.”

“Usual? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of you on your own before ever.”

“Well, Blaine is trying to catch up with everyone in his department and Chris’ classes are all six hours long, so she is perpetually stuck in the art lab. So, I fend for myself these days.”

“Ah.”

“What about you? Where’s your entourage of Thi and Jenn?”

“Oh, them. They’re probably out somewhere making out…”

Zane’s face fell at this, so Danny didn’t press it.

“Anyway, what are you reading? It seems you liked it, seeing as how you were ignoring me earlier.”

“It’s alright. It’s for my lit class later today.”

“Is that your major?”

“No. I don’t really have one. Couldn’t make up my mind. You?”

“Yeah, same. I don’t know what I want to do in the future. I feel like I’m still a kid.”

“Exactly! I’m eighteen, what do I know about what I want to do with the rest of my life?”
There was a pause in the conversation, so both of them started eating. But then it got kinda awkward sitting there in silence. So Danny tried to think of something to say.

“So, um, how’s football practice going?”

Zane gave him a look that was a mixture of “what do you know about football” and “why do you care”. But he decided that he was just trying to be nice, so he went with it.

“Actually, it’s going terrible.”

“Oh, I’m sorry… why?”

“Well, I’m not the best anymore. I mean, in high school, I was the star. No one could throw like me. Thi and I could do no wrong. But now, there are at least four people better than me. So I end up sitting on the bench, or running pointless drills for hours. Thi, on the other hand, is kicking butt and taking names. I mean, no one can touch him. He’s just too fast. So, he’s quickly become hot, and meanwhile, I’m left behind.”

“Well, I’m sure that your time’ll come. I mean, these guys in front of you will graduate, and you can move up, right?”

"That's just it. This is still just the freshman. The only way I'll see any action on the field ever, is if all of them happened to get injured, leave to go to a better school, or get kicked out."

"That sucks... I'm sorry, man."

"Meh. It's ok. I mean, I knew I couldn't play forever. I just thought I'd at least get to play some. And as it is, no one even likes me on the team. They all adore Thi, but I'm always in the shadows. I don't know how to deal."

"You don't know how to deal with not being in the spotlight, or losing it to your friend?"

"Both... Gah! Why am I telling you all of this?

Danny just smiled gently, "Because I'm here, and I'm listening. Also, I know what it's like to be constantly overlooked."

"Yeah, I guess you would." Zane said, but not maliciously.
After a brief pause, Danny started to say something, but thought better of it. However, Zane noticed it and said, "Say it".

"Say what?"

"Whatever it was you were going to say, but didn't."

"Well, it's kind of personal... Do you mind?"

"No."

"What happened between you and Jenn? I mean, I really thought y'all were going to hook up..."

Zane's face dropped. "Yeah, so did everyone."

"So what happened?"

"Well, I was doing a lot of soul searching, and apparently she got bored of waiting. And went directly to my best friend."

"That breaks like rule #1 of guy friends rules..."

"I know! Apparently they don't have the same set of rules in Brazil."

Danny smiled. Zane continued.

"I mean, really, in the end, I guess I didn't love her like I thought I did. The most irritating thing is that it seems like Thi is trying to rub it in my face that he got her. When in all reality, I could have had her, if I had wanted her. She's settling for him. Not that he's not great, don't get me wrong, but she liked me first. And now they like to make out every chance they get. I swear, I'm going to walk out of the next restaurant that we go to that they make out in the booth the whole meal. It's hard to eat with that. And it has nothing to do with the fact that it's them either. I mean, people tell me it is, but really, I'd be just as disgusted if you and Chris were making out in front of me."

"No, I totally understand."

There was another awkward pause. This time it was Zane who broke it.

"Ok, so now I get to ask you something personal."

"I don't know, Zane..."

"Turn about is fair play. You asked something, now I get to."

"Ok, fine. What?"

"How come you and Chris never dated?"

"I guess that's a fair question. And the truth is, it was just really bad timing. I'm pretty sure she liked me, and stopped liking me before I even realized there could be something between us. And then when I liked her, she really didn't like me back. But then I kinda realized that I didn't really care. I mean, it wasn't really something I was that interested in pursuing. I mean, if it had of happened, I would have been fine with it. But also, not having it happen was fine too."

"How very zen-like."

"Well, let's just say I did some soul searching too. Plus, we're too good of friends to mess it up with something like dating."

"What was your soul searching about?"

Danny looked over at the clock on the wall, and realized he was about to be late for class, so he stood up and grabbed is tray. Zane looked a little shocked.

"Sorry, I'm about to be late for class... I'd love to stay and chat, but I really gotta go."

"No, hey, me too, actually."

"Hey Zane. You know, if you're ever bored or anything, we're in room #318, if you ever want to hang or something. Or just need to get away..."

Zane smiled. "Thanks, Danny. I may take you up on that."

The boys put their trays away and left the cafeteria going in opposite directions, and Danny felt a tiny bit lonely.

~ The First Day ~

Danny sat in the back row, right in the middle, next to the aisle. It gave him the best vantage point of the room while still sitting in the back row. He had a thing about people he didn't know sitting behind him. He put his head down on the desk in front of him. Really, it was a long table that started where he sat and when all the way to the edge of the room to his left. There were four of these on each side of the aisle. He was early to class, since his previous class had released early due to the fact that it was the first day, and there really wasn't a whole lot to talk about except for what to expect. And to buy the books needed for the class. It was 10:00 a.m. and he had already been through two classes, this being his third. He was not looking forward to doing this every other day for fifteen weeks. He heard, but could not see, other students slowly coming in and taking seats. There were a few others who were there when he got there. He was listening to the nervous talking of people meeting for the first time. Slowly, the room got a little louder. All of a sudden, he heard a "DANNNNYYYYYYY!" and he looked up to see Jennifer and Thiago walking into the room. Jennifer let go of Thiago's hand and ran over to the sleepy boy and threw her arms around his neck. Danny just smiled. This was a moment he had been waiting for for years. But now that he was over her, it just felt strange. That, and Thiago was standing there smiling at him too.

"Danny, didn't know you were taking this class." Thiago said, sticking his hand out to shake Danny's as Jennifer let go of his neck. Danny shook his hand.

"Yeah. Wait, what class is this?"

Jennifer laughed. "It's intro to psychology."

"Oh, ok good. They changed rooms on me once. I sat in for twenty minutes on a senior ethics course before realizing it. Not only did I have to get up and leave in the middle of class, but then it looked like I was twenty minutes late to that class..."

"Oof... That's rough, dude. First day, and all..." Both Thiago and Jennifer made grimacing faces.

"Yeah, luckily I talked to the professor afterwards and he said I wasn't the only one to do that today. He seemed really nice about it."

"Hey, you mind if we sit with you?" Jennifer asked and Danny realized they were still standing there.

"Of course!" Danny moved his stuff out of the way, so they could sit. "It'll be nice knowing people in classes for once."

"Jenn and I planned our schedule so that we had most of our classes together. And the ones we didn't, we were at least close so we could walk together."

"Except for during football practice..."

"Baby, you know I have..." Thiago started whispering to her, but pretty loudly, so that Danny heard it.

"I'm not complaining sweetie, just stating a fact."

Danny realized this was probably a sore subject between them, and decided to leave it alone.

"So, y'all are dating now...?"

Jennifer got a huge grin "Yes! He asked me out over the summer!"

"It'll be two months on the 21st."

Jennifer gave him a hopelessly romantic look. "He even remembers our anniversary. How cute is that?"

"Disgustingly" was all Danny could say before the professor walked in.

The professor gave his introduction and started calling roll. He got through a chunk of names before pausing. "Is it Thiago Silva?"

"Here" Thiago said, raising his hand.

"Is... is that Brazilian?"

Thiago looked shocked that someone knew that. "It is... my parents are from Brazil. They moved to the U.S. in the 70's."

"Oh, how nice! My wife is from São Paulo. Where were your parents from?"

"They both grew up in Rio, but didn't meet until they moved here."

"Você fala o Português?"

"Um pouco. O bastante para sobreviver."

Danny leaned over to Jennifer and whispered, "What are they saying?"

"How should I know? Us Guzman's are pure Mexican. That's not Spanish..." She whispered back.

"Mr. Elliot, Ms. Guzman, you really should learn your friend's language..." The professor said, then continued, "also, I have very good hearing..."

"Evidently..." Danny said, before really thinking about it, but not in a mean way. The professor just smiled at him, and Danny was mortified. Some of the students snickered a bit.

"Mr. Elliot, we may get along... Now, Mr. Silva, do you go by Thiago?"

"Well, really, I go by Thi."

"T-E-A?"

"Well, T-H-I, but it sounds the same..."

The professor looked down at his roll sheet. "Oh, I guess that would make sense." He then continued on with the roll.

Class got out early, and Jennifer and Thiago said bye to Danny and they were off. The rest of his day was fairly uneventful. He and Blaine and ate dinner and chatted about their first day. Blaine was worried about not being as smart as the other kids in his class. Apparently they were all really smart and had taken coding classes back in high school, where Blaine had learned that all by himself. Chris was worried that all of her "three hour classes" were really six hours, once you counted all the "lab" work that went in to it. Danny told his story of being in the wrong room again. And that Jennifer and Thiago were in his psych class.

"Really? I bet that was awkward." Chris gave him a concerned look.

"Actually, it really wasn't. They were really nice. They even wanted to sit by me."

"What bizzaro world Jenn and Thi have replaced the ones we know?"

"Ha ha... No idea, but I really hope it's permanent."

"You just want it to be permanent so that you can hook up with Jenn..." The conversation was entirely between Chris and Danny, as Blaine was entirely enraptured with the fact that the cafe was all you could eat. And Blaine could eat a lot.


"Not really. I'm really over her. Plus, she and Thiago are official. And are probably going to end up being one of those repulsive couples who are all over each other all the time."


"Well, someone sounds jealous..."


"Not of the fact that it's Jenn, but of the fact that I wish I could be that couple with someone."


Chris punched his arm. "Aww, Danny... I'm sure you'll find some nice hot college girl and y'all can make out all the time, and we'll make fun of you for it."


Danny stared at his sort-of Chinese food and didn't smile. "Yeah... some girl..."


Chris kinda looked at Danny, wondering what he meant by that, but before she got the chance, Blaine came back with his third plate of food. This time it was a giant baked potato, loaded with everything imaginable. And probably some that you wouldn't want to know about.


"I can't believe this places exists! Look at all of this delicious food!"


"You know, Blaine, the freshman fifteen isn't just a myth..."


"With food like this, who cares!"


They finished eating with nothing more than small talk. All three of them walked back to their dorms exhausted from their first day in college.

~ Dorm Life ~

Danny was sitting on the futon in his dorm watching TV when the door opened. In walked Blaine, wrapped only in a towel, with flip flops that squished when he walked, carrying a plastic basket full of various toiletries, with the most mortified look on his face. He shut the door and stood in the doorway and leaned back against the door.

"So... many... naked boys...."

"He he. Now you know why I take my showers at two in the afternoon or two in the morning. Minimal naked boy exposure."

Blaine walked over to his tiny closet, dropped the towel, and started putting on clothes.

"One of them was trying to hold a conversation with me..."

Danny just laughed and continued watching his cartoons.

"Though, I am proud of you for staying..."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning you're the boy who wouldn't take a shower without taking off his swim trunks when we were kids at Kamp Tikihama."

"Whatever. We were little kids then."

Blaine finished dressing and sat down at his computer that he had spent an entire year saving for, and built himself, piece by piece. His two 24" LCD monitors flickered to life.

"That's what I'm saying. I'm proud that my little boy is all growed up."

"Coming from the boy who still watches cartoons."

"Whatever man. These are way better than normal people shows."

"I really don't watch any TV."

"Yes, I know."

With that, their room was only filled with the sounds of typing and cartoons.

About twenty minutes later, there was a loud knock on their door. Danny answered it and Blaine spun around in his desk chair. It was Matthew, their R.A.

"Hey guys. Just wanted to come down and let you know that there will be a dorm meeting tonight at 7. It's mandatory, so no skipping. Not that y'all will skip. But I have to say it. Plus, there will be drinks and snacks and stuff, so hang around afterward and meet some more of your dorm mates."

"Alrighty. We'll be there."

"Cool. Is there anything else I can do for you guys?"

Danny turned to Blaine who just shrugged.

"No, I think we're fine."

"Awesome. You guys are going to be my easy room this year, I can tell."

"Um, good?"

"Yup. Just don't get offended if you don't see me much during the year. I've got a couple of really big idiots on this hall this year to deal with."

Danny and Blaine just laughed. "Don't worry, we won't."

"Alright. Well, see you tonight." And then Matthew left and Danny shut the door.

"What is it about this school and their socials? This is our third one and school hasn't even started yet."

"Yeah, us undeclareds only have had two. Well, will have had..."

"You got to choose. I had to go hang out with the group that is 90% geek."

"Well, that's convenient. Since you are also 90% geek."

"Shut up! You could have helped me out and come with me."

"Dude, I don't understand you half the time, why would I subject myself to a roomful of that?"

"I could have been your geek-to-English translator. But instead you went with Chris to hers."

"Which was like 30% emo kids, 30% 'artsy' kids, 30% kids who want to only draw manga, 5% socially awkward kids, and 5% normal kids. It was a very strange group. The artsy kids all stood around and felt superior to everyone else. The manga kids stood around and discussed which shows had the best art and which artists had the best style. The socially awkward kids hovered awkwardly by the refreshment table, making it awkward for anyone to get something to eat. They were just super awkward. And the emo kids just moped for being looked down on by the artsy kids and that they had to be in the same room with the manga kids."

"And the normal kids?"

"We stood around and talked about how awkward it was going to be taking classes with these people."

"I love that you include yourself with the normal kids."

"Ha. Well, I was with Chris and she's one of the normal kids."

"I bet you wanted to hang out with the manga kids, didn't you?"

"Shut up. Just because I watch anime doesn't mean I want to sit around and talk about it all the time. Watching it doesn't automatically make me a nerd."

"Actually, yes it does. Face it, Danny. You're just like me."

"You're a geek, Blaine. And I would be a nerd. There is a difference. Except that I'm not a nerd."

"Yeah, then what are you?"

"I'm... unique."

"Yeah. Code for 'nerd'."

"Shut up!" And a wad of dirty socks went flying across the room with one landing on Blaine's head and the other landing on one of his monitors.

"Oh gross! That is so sick!" As he freaked out and tried to get them off him and his stuff with only having to touch it when absolutely necessary.

"You're gonna get it!"

"Bring it, geek boy!"

And Blaine crossed the room in a flying leap, knocking Danny off the futon. The Blaine/Danny wad started grabbing whatever they could off the floor and shoving it into each other's face to gross the other one out to gain the upper hand in the "fight". At one point, after they had been going at it for a while, the door opened. Both looking ragged, looked up from the floor and saw Matthew again.

"You were going to be my easy room..." And Matthew shut the door and left. Both boys on the floor started laughing and Blaine got up and started walking back to his computer. And he got a pair of boxer shorts shoved over his head.

"Awww! I just took a shower too!"

7 o'clock rolled around, and they made their way down to the common area of the dorm. There were a bunch of guys already down there, and the rest made their way down quickly. All were in various forms of dress, from guys like Danny and Blaine who were fully clothed, all the way to the two guys who were only wearing towels.

It was an all guys dorm. All of the freshman dorms at Dalton were segregated by gender. And to some, this meant total freedom to be whatever. The dorm was a big building that was basically two hallways that met at a 90 degree angle. On the ground floor, where the two halls met, was a big space with a giant screen TV, a couple of pool tables, vending machines, and an office by the front door. Danny and Blaine had put themselves by the big TV and were just watching the other guys arrive and chat and be boys. A group of athletic looking boys were the last to arrive, most were shirtless, trying to show off. In their midst walked Zane and Thiago, who were out of place being fully clothed. Blaine elbowed Danny to get his attention to tell him, but it was too loud to hear anything, so he just pointed. Zane and Thiago were standing across the room and noticed Danny and Blaine about the same time. Zane and Thiago smiled and did the guy thing where you jerk your head back to say "what's up". Danny did the same back.

About that time, an older man walked out of the office followed by eight or so older guys who obviously weren't freshman. Matthew was among them.

"Alright guys, quiet down." The man said. And after a few moments, the room did quiet down. He continued. "Welcome to Johnson dorm. My name is Mike Johnson and I am the guy in charge of all of you while you are residents here. I'm generally easy to get along with, as long as you follow the rules. If you don't, I will not be your favorite person. There are some ground rules that you guys need to know. Most of it is common sense stuff, but I've found that common sense went out the door years ago. First off, this is the common area. Anything beyond the double doors that leads to the rooms is NOT the common area. Girls are only allowed in the common area ONLY. That means no girls in your rooms, or on the stairs, or just in the doorway. Here only. That being said, anything beyond these doors is your space. If you want to walk around naked, that is your prerogative." That received a laugh and a few cheers. "However, once you leave those doors, keep it in your pants. That means you, towel boys." A few more laughs. "Now, the rest of this stuff is just common courtesy stuff. Like, no loud music past midnight. Guys on the upper floors, try not to jump around too much. Everything here is concrete, and that only dampens so much. So please remember that. OK. Now to introduce these guys behind me. They are your resident assistants this year. You should recognize yours, since you should have already met him. However, if any of them tell you something, you have to do it. They are like my U.N. peace corps, except that they have power." Danny and Blaine and like three other guys laughed at that. Mike smiled at them; good sign. "But really they are here to help you. If you have a problem with your roommate or someone else in the dorm, go talk to them. If you're struggling with adjusting to college life, talk to them. They are all juniors and seniors. They have all been where you are, and they know how tough it is. If it's something super serious you need to talk about, and don't feel comfortable talking to them, come to me. I'm here mostly all of the time. I live here too. If you follow these rules, and don't destroy the place, you should be fine. That's it from us. Stick around and enjoy the snacks, and meet some of your dorm mates. You're stuck with them for at least a year. Thanks guys."

With that, the crowd dispersed. A handful went back to their rooms. The rest started talking and joking around like before. Danny and Blaine went to the snack table and got something to drink and some chips and other things to munch on. They stayed down there and watched a group of guys continue their game of pool when Thiago and Zane pushed their way through the crowd to them.

"Mason, Elliott. Didn't know you guys lived here too."

Both Danny and Blaine were confused, but pleasantly surprised at the use of their last names in a normal fashion instead of their usual terrible nicknames.

"Uh yeah, we're up on third west." Blaine said tentatively.

"Oh, that's why. We're on first north." Thiago continued.

"Ha ha! You're on the jock floor..." Blaine said before really thinking about it.

"Yeah, we didn't really have a choice. The coaches wanted us all to be on the same floor. They say it helps with bonding or something like that."

While Blaine and Thiago had their little conversation, Danny and Zane stood idly by, not really wanting to make eye contact. Which was pretty normal for Danny, since he had been the main victim of Zane through the years. But it was pretty unusual for Zane to be doing the same. And it was unusual that he wasn't the one talking. Once Danny realized that Zane was avoiding him, he tried as hard as he could to make eye contact with him. But Zane kept looking around, but not in a bored way, or in a way that was impatient and trying to get away; but as someone trying not to be awkward. Finally, while Blaine and Thi blathered on about freedom and nakedness, Danny finally caught Zane's eye, and Danny smiled at him. Zane just kinda looked at him, so Danny gave him a "what's wrong" look, to which Zane rolled his eyes and kinda shook his head saying "it doesn't matter". So Danny gave him a look that implored him to tell him. Which Zane replied with a half smile and a look of "no, really, it's ok" and "I may tell you later".

About that time, Thi and Blaine finished their conversation and Thi punched Zane in the arm to signify he wanted to go. Danny gave him the most sincerest smile he could and Zane did the same over his shoulder as the two of them left. Danny and Blaine finished their snacks and realized they didn't know anyone left. And pool is only fun to watch for so long. So they headed back up to their room.

"So, that was oddly civil..." Blaine said as they started taking the stairs up to their room.

"Yeah, it really was."

"So, i noticed you were making eyes at Zane. What's that about?"

"I was not 'making eyes' at him."

"Yeah, whatever, google eye boy."

"Shut up!" And Danny shoved him into the stairway wall.
They made it all the way back to their room before Danny said anything more. "I think something's wrong with Zane."

"Uh, yeah, we always knew that."

"No, I mean, I think something's really bugging him."

Blaine turned around in his chair to look at Danny. "Uh, no offense dude, but why do you care? I mean, he has not been the kindest person to you since, oh, forever."

"I know. I just... I don't know. He had this look..."

"Yeah, uh huh..."

"No, I mean it. I know that look, and it's not a fun place to be. I just hope he's ok."

"You're so weird. If I were you, I'd be relishing in the fact that he's miserable. I mean, how miserable has he made your life?"

"Yeah, I don't really care... No one should have to feel like that. I kinda feel sorry for him..."

"Whatever, man."

And the subject was dropped. Danny went back to his cartoons and Blaine to his Internet. A few hours later, Danny turned off the TV and changed into his pj's and turned off the light and got in bed.

"Don't stay up too late, you have class early tomorrow."

"Yeah, thanks mom."

"Hey, just sayin. I know you, and you are not the best in the morning."

Blaine turned and smiled. "Yeah, I'm almost finished."

Danny rolled over in his bed and listened to his friend clacking on the keyboard for a little while longer, then heard the computer shutting down and Blaine climbing up to his bed, which had been bunked over Danny's. Tomorrow was a big day. It was their first day of classes.