~ 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.