Moving In

"I can't believe I have this much crap," Tai muttered as he pulled another box out of the trunk of his father's car. Kari, his younger sister, smiled and shook her head.

"I warned you that you were packing too much." Tai tsked, but couldn't bring himself to initiate a sibling spat. He was going to miss Kari desperately while he was at college, but of course he hadn't told her that.

He stared at his new dorm, shielding his eyes against the glaring sun. It was an old brick building that looked decent from the outside, but left something to be desired from within. The communal bathrooms featured cramped shower stalls offering translucent curtains for privacy, with no separate area to change. The hallways and communal areas smelled of dudes and microwavable food. The dorm rooms themselves were tiny, and the walls were composed of painted cinder blocks, just like the ones in his elementary school. There were exposed pipes in the ceiling. Tai had glanced into a girl's room earlier and found wet bras and panties hanging from them to dry. His mouth twisted into a grin without his willing it.

He set the box into the yellow cart he had borrowed from the dorm. It was full, so he squared his shoulders and started pushing it up the ramp, relishing the sensation of his muscles working. He applied more force than he meant to, causing the cart to jerk towards the building's entrance. Someone opened the door from the inside at just the wrong moment, and the cart collided with it, pushing it backwards. There was a muffled exclamation of pain from the other side.

Crap! I think I just knocked a girl over! Tai pushed the cart onto the landing so he could get around it, then grabbed the door and pulled it back. A boy sat on the floor, wincing and cradling his forehead with both hands.

Tai grabbed the stranger's arm and hauled him to his feet. "I'm so sorry, man!" he cried. The boy lowered his hands, giving Tai a clear view of his face. He had black eyes set beneath heavy brows. The top of the kid's violently red hair only reached Tai's chest. An impressive bruise was already beginning to form on his forehead.

"Quite alright," the boy said, speaking through clenched teeth. Tai felt his brow rise. That seemed like a British thing to say, but he had an American accent. Girlish voice, delicate features, short and scrawny, and overly proper? Poor bastard. Must be terrible with the ladies.

"How bad is it?" Tai asked, shifting guiltily. "I have a first aid kit somewhere in this mess…"

"No need," the boy answered. "Mine is already unpacked." The pain must have been bad, because the redhead retreated back into the dorm lobby instead of continuing on his way outside. Tai sighed, then dragged his cart inside and pushed it out of the way.

"My name's Tai," he said, extending a hand to him. "Third floor. I'll find a way to make this up to you, alright?" The redhead paled, probably wondering if future contact with him would cause more injuries, but he shook his hand anyway. Tai's tanned, calloused hands seemed to swallow the other boy's, which were delicate and pale. Does this dude ever go outside?

"Isaac," the redhead offered. "But I'm called Izzy. Fifth floor." Tai fought to keep his expression from shifting. Izzy was such a girly nickname. Sticking with Isaac would serve him better, but Tai vaguely knew better than to say so.

"I'll see you around, Izzy. I'm sorry." Izzy nodded and wandered over to the elevator, but Tai waited for the next one under the pretense of talking to Kari, who had watched the encounter from the tattered sofa in the corner of the lobby.

"Tai," she sighed as she approached him. "Really?" He crossed his arms and stared down at her.

"It was an accident. I'll find something nice to do for him." Kari raised a delicate brow and pushed the elevator call button. When it arrived, they stood aside for the girl pushing a cart out and then stepped inside. Tai hit the round 3 button and waited for the doors to close.

"Listen," Kari said. "While it's just the two of us… I'm really going to miss you, Tai. Promise to call me lots?" Tai glanced over at her and felt a lump form in his throat. He coughed to clear it away.

"I will. Every day, if you want." Kari grinned despite the tears in her eyes.

"Maybe not that much," she quipped, and Tai managed a faint laugh. He pulled his sister into a tight hug.

"Listen, be careful, alright? Don't let TK get fresh with you. Or Davis. Or anyone else. I will personally kick the boy's ass if he does." He pressed a cheek to her soft hair and breathed in her comforting scent. In many ways, his sister was the center of his universe, and he wasn't entirely sure what he would do now that they were no longer living in the same house.

Kari sighed and shifted so that her forehead was pressed against his shoulder. "I can take care of myself… but thanks. You'll watch out for Amy, right?"

Tai sucked in a quick breath. "Y-yeah. Of course. You know I will."

Kari pulled back enough to look at him, her expression concerned. "Tai, I wasn't- I wasn't blaming you at all. I'm just…" She sighed and plopped her face against his chest. "I'm worried about her."

Tai's grip tightened around his sister. "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on her."

Kari smiled and squeezed him back, somehow almost matching his strength. "I love you. Have fun here, okay?"

"Sure. I love you, too," he murmured. Then the elevator beeped, and he pulled away from her as the doors opened. He pushed his cart down the hallway and opened the door to his room. His eyes immediately fell on Matt, his roommate and best friend. Matt's brother and father were straightening up his side of the room.

"Hey, man," Matt said, glancing up from tucking his sheets around his twin bed. TK grinned at Kari, and she entwined her fingers and smiled back. Tai fixed Matt's kid brother with a death glare, but TK failed to react. Tai begrudgingly gave him some respect and left him alone.

"You guys weren't here a second ago," Tai said. Tai's parents were loading his clothes into his closet and drawers. Kari moved to TK and started chatting with him in an undertone. The tiny room was far too small for all of these people, and everyone kept bumping into each other.

Matt nodded and tugged on the sheet. "Yeah, we went to lunch. Listen, my bass is in the corner, okay? Do me a favor and don't destroy it." Tai felt a muscle tick in his forehead.

"What do you think I'm gonna do, toss it out the window?" he asked, rolling his eyes. Kari giggled and broke off her conversation with TK long enough to turn to the two of them. Tai knew she was going to say something about how he had bashed Izzy's head in, so he hastened to cut her off, speaking far too loudly. "I see it, I see it, don't get your wig in a bunch." He glanced at Matt's blond hair, which he meticulously set into a cool, messy look every day, using lethal amounts of hair gel and time. Matt snorted and grinned.

After that, the group went about the move-in process with no further hitches. It was almost time for dinner by the time everything was in the room and put away. His father suggested that they grab Amy and get something to eat, so Tai asked his family to wait in the car while he looked for her.

Amy lived on the fourth floor, the only all girl's floor in the building, by her request. Tai took the stairs and knocked on her door, and a blond girl opened it. Her blue eyes passed up and down his body, sparking with approval and interest. Tai gave her an easy, arrogant smile. Although he enjoyed flirting and was pleased by her reaction, Tai wasn't actively interested in this girl. Something about her expression, possibly the way she scrunched her lips together and to the side, spoke of condescension. He wasn't the world's best judge, but this was not the person he would have chosen as Amy's roommate.

He introduced himself as Amy's cousin, tried to listen patiently to her reply, then edged past her. Amy was at her desk, glancing up from an open biology text. She smiled when she saw him.

"Amy," Tai sighed, snapping the book shut. "No. Save it for when classes start next Monday."

Amy pouted, but her expression morphed back into a grin. "What's up, Tai?" she asked.

"Just wondering if you wanted to grab dinner with Kari, my parents, and me," he said. His brow rose at the eager look on her face.

"Sounds great, just give me a second," she said, and her voice seemed to float with relief. She selected a pair of shoes from the closet, shoved her feet into them, and lifted her purse from a hook on the wall. "See you later, Sarah!"

"Uh, are you that hungry?" Tai asked. Amy sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. She stayed quiet until they were far away from her room.

"It's just… Sarah," she said at last. "I tried so hard to talk to her all day, but she doesn't read or play video games. Our tastes in music and movies are completely at odds, and she isn't interested in any of the arts. From what I can tell, she's mostly into adrenaline type sports. And it's probably just my imagination, but I feel like she's already decided that she doesn't like me, and that she's looking down on me." Amy gave herself a quick, supportive squeeze, then took hold of his elbow. "But I'm probably just being neurotic."

There was a long pause, and Tai sensed her agitation growing as her body tensed. Eventually, she muttered, "Tai, she doesn't read." Something about the way she said it made the words sound almost damning, and Tai fought to keep his face straight.

"Well, you know, neither do I. We get along." He patted her hand, then tried to talk himself out of worrying about Amy's roommate. One of his older friends from his high school soccer club had warned him that new roommates often went through a honeymoon phase, where they got along well because of the novelty of the situation. That polite behavior would erode over time, sometimes exploding violently before the middle of the semester. This was only the first day, and Amy and Sarah already seemed to be a little at odds.

"Yes, well. I don't have to live with you," Amy teased. Tai snorted and ruffled her long, dark brown hair, mussing it up at the roots. She sighed and broke away from him, finger-combing her hair with annoyed vigor. Tai couldn't fight the huge grin that followed. Tormenting Amy and Kari was one of his favorite activities.

Amy paused when they stepped outside of the dorm building, and Tai came to a stop beside her. He followed her gaze and saw that she was staring at their dorm. "What's up?" he asked.

"This is really happening," Amy whispered. "My mom and brother went home already. Your family is going to go home soon. And then we'll still be here. And I mean, I've been dreaming of college for years, dreaming of not living with my father. But, now that it's happening…" She turned back to him, and she looked so lost and bewildered that she suddenly seemed much younger.

Tai took a deep breath and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know it's scary. It's okay to be scared. But it'll be alright, and Matt and I are here, yeah?"

Amy smiled, but Tai could see the strain in her eyes. "Yes, I know. And I'm here for you, not that you need it. You're always the strong one."

Tai stood in silence. He wished he knew how to tell her that he needed her just as much as she needed him, but he couldn't bring himself to say something so mushy. Instead, he put his arm around her shoulders lead her to the car, where his family was waiting.

"We're going to have a good time here," he said. "So don't worry."

She nodded, and he vowed to do whatever he could to make his prediction a reality.

About this story

Four Years is an AU story set in an American college. I selected this setting because I wanted to write a college story, and I have no experience with what college is like in Japan. I will be using the dub first names and avoiding last names. Also, in this AU, Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Mimi, and Joe are all the same age (college freshman). TK and Kari are three years younger than them, so right now they are sophomores in high school.

The story has a lot of OCs, since it takes place on a college campus. Except for Amy, most of them are minor characters meant to fill out the campus and create a more realistic environment.

As of April 2016, this story is returning from a one-year hiatus. I started writing this fic over three years ago, and my writing has changed a lot since then. In an effort to improve this story, each time I add a new chapter, I am replacing one old chapter with an edited version. I apologize if the shift in writing styles is disorienting while I work on editing.

I commissioned the cover art from the talented burbiart on tumblr.

Thanks very much for reading! I hope you enjoy Four Years.