~So I got the idea for this from BetweenBlueLine's fanfiction called A Strange Blossom. I was automatically entranced by the idea of placing Hoshino's beloved characters in a, shall we say, more up to date and normal setting; aka a college. I'd already been fiddling around with a high school version of this but was disgusted when I came up with something less then I believed I could produce. So, enjoy the fruits of my fingers' labor. And thank you so much BetweenBlueLines for your amazing ability to write!~

~I don't own D. Gray-Man. Period. Or Meet Virginia by Train. Just a note, Yuu is different from Yu. With the doubled vowel sound, it's longer and drawn out and considered a different name in Japanese society.~

Chapter 1: Meet Virginia

Yuu's P.O.V.

Driving down the deserted road, I blinked lazily at the farmland that seemed to encroach upon the small highway that went on for miles until it reached the campus. It had been my last trip back home and not only was I fighting tears of eminent sadness, but also a fatigue that threatened to overwhelm me and have me kill sheep after sheep until I crashed into a tree or a house. Tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, I gauged the setting sun with a half lidded eye, estimating I had at least two hours before it disappeared behind the horizon. I exhaled and pushed my fingers through my hair, reaching the short brown ends. There was no way I'd stay awake that long if I didn't have help. I rolled down the window and let the slightly cooled air rush into the cabin of the car. Living next to the ocean had its pluses, I had to admit. The air was certainly warmer then the frozen wasteland I left.

My cell buzzed loudly and Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria interrupted my inner musings. I blinked and reached down, flipping it open. "Yuu here."

"Hey um…it's me…? Your new roommate Ari?"

My reaction was instantaneous. A scowl formed on my face and my eyebrows knitted together. "Yeah?" I tried to sound indifferent. People like her made me want to drive through a hurricane in a suicidal attempt to remove me from this earth.

"Yuu-chaaaannn!!!"

I blinked, completely surprised. That wasn't Ari, my blonde obnoxious new 'friend'. That voice was male and way too cheerful. "Who was that?"

"Um…the reason I called." Ari said sarcastically, making me grind my teeth in anger. "Look, he showed up at the door saying you guys were like best friends in high school and that he transferred over to this college-Hey! Get out of there!"

I groaned, and then started to laugh. That could only be one person: Lavi. "Hand him the phone."

"No they are not plastic!" Ari shouted angrily.

I snorted, my mind drawing its own conclusions as to what the subject had been about. "Ari. Hello? Hand him the phone Ari. I can kick him out."

A disgruntled growl came from her and I heard some rustling as the phone was passed.

"Hello?"

I smiled, fond memories of high school floating back with that voice, as well as a blush that I'm sure was permanent whenever he was around. "Hey buddy! You're down here now?"

"Yeah! Flunked the entrance exams to Harvard-"

"-on purpose." I finished flatly.

I could imagine him shrugging. "Hey, I couldn't go east without you guys!"

"I can imagine not leaving Allen and Lenalee," I laughed. "But I think you're a little screwed up about me. Who says I wanted you back?"

"Oh I don't know…" He said mischievously, "Maybe the blush on your face right now…"

I turned redder. How did he figure that out?! "Get out of my dorm. You're scaring my roommate."

"She's not scared." He scoffed. "She's just cranky because I caught her doing something she wasn't suppo—"

Something crashed against the phone and he yelled ow.

I chuckled again, though it was tempered with annoyance. What had she been doing that he had caught her? "Lavi?"

"Still here." I could hear the pout in his voice.

"I'll be there in a half an hour. Can you wait that long to see me?"

"Sure! I'll just camp out here—" He paused. "…or not. I think your new friend doesn't like me."

"She doesn't like anyone." I said dryly. "Go wait in your new place and I'll call you when you can come over, alright?"

"Kay!" He said brightly. "See you, Yuu-chan!"

I laughed and hung up, knowing he was already gone. I chucked my phone into the passenger seat and focused on the road, pushing the gas pedal down a little more. My heart stuttered at the thought of seeing him again. It had been months since we last talked, my high school crush and I. Images of him floated up into mind and I almost melted into the seat again. How could he be so charming, yet be sworn off of any romantic encounter of any kind?

Shaking my head, I smiled sardonically. I was so pathetic.

Lavi's P.O.V.

I tossed the phone back to the brooding strawberry blonde on the couch, who nursed her bottle of Budlight with an almost drunken jealous fashion. "So I'm guessing Yuu-chan doesn't know you drink." I raised an eyebrow, smiling as ever.

Dressed in only a tank top and torn hip hugger jeans, she unwound her long legs from a pillow and set the bottle down, leaning like a panther towards her cell. "It's not beer." She snatched the phone and retreated to her corner.

I shrugged. "Alright. It's water." I turned my back to her and shoved my hands in the pockets of my levis. Such a strange girl, the sickly pale complexion coupled with gray eyes that bore dark angry holes into my back, and the almost long-suffering way she took in her alcohol. Yuu-chan wouldn't have voluntarily signed up for this apartment if she knew anything about this girl. "Well, no worries. I'm leaving now so you can finish off your 'water'."

"Wait!" The outburst sounded like a plea, making me stop and turn in surprise.

She hesitated and for a moment, those gray eyes turned blue. But then it was as cloudy as ever. "Don't forget your jacket." She turned her head away and flipped on the TV, refusing to look at me now. The conversation between us was over.

I blinked, looking at the checkerboarded red and black jacket I came with and had carelessly tossed on the small kitchenette counter. "Oh. Thanks." I replied and grabbed it. I pulled my arm through one of the sleeves and opened the door to leave. Poor Yuu-chan. This girl was a hard core mess.

I shut the door behind me and exhaled softly. I supposed I could go back to my dorm, but my own roommate was about as moody as Miss Chronic Drinker and that was without the alcohol.

Finally out of options, I decided on grabbing food. Yuu-chan said she'd call me anyway.

As I walked down the corridor I smiled grimly, hoping Yuu-chan wouldn't figure out my real reason for flunking the entrance exams, and then again, hoping she wouldn't guess it was for her. I was strictly sworn off women, besides the occasional fling that no one else knew about besides me, choosing them as friends over lovers. My chosen occupation ensured that I'd never have a successful relationship anyone anyway. At least friends understood if you had to go home at seven fifty three at night to write until three in the morning. Unfortunately, my clear aversion to relationships didn't stop women from trying, including poor Yuu-chan. Oh I knew about her lonely one-sided crush. I'd been aware since the moment she begun to have those kind of feelings about me, even if she didn't know it herself. And I ignored them, though it hurt me and it hurt her to painfully crush every attempt she made to reach out to me in that way.

A little sad now, I pushed the door open to the dorm and looked for my car. Maybe, if I was lucky, she'd grown out of her misplaced affections and chosen a different, more admirable receiver of her attentions…

Ari's P.O.V.

"My how lovely your Arianna has become!" A hooked nose came into my vision, making me want to lean back but being unable to. "That dramatic chin! And those lovely blue eyes…my, my…and you have your mother's hair! That golden color looks darling in a girl your age!"

"Thank you, Auntie." I murmured and did a slight curtsy. I hated this white dress. I hated being here. I was cold. Where was mother?

Auntie, satisfied that her generic comments on my looks had been accepted graciously, moved on to a more favorable nephew or niece.

A cough bubbled in my throat and in a panic, I fled from my nanny's side towards the bathroom. 'Mustn't let them know, Arianna…' Mother had told me. 'If you must cough, please do it where no one will see you.'

I slammed the door to the bathroom and locked it as a coughing fit overtook me. I kneeled on the linoleum floor, gasping for air between the racking fits. I covered my mouth to stifle the sound, trying to be so good for Mother. Mother, I'm trying, but it hurts. I can't breathe. I lay on the bathroom floor, sobbing for air. Mother, I tried. I tried but there's red on my skirt. Mother, come find me. Mother, why aren't you there.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts away. My medicine always brought on these strange unwelcome bouts of nostalgia. I glanced at the Budlight bottle in my hand, a depression so intense washing over me that I almost cried. Almost. This was it. This was my life. Medication that came in a beer bottle from a drug dealer that sold the drugs I needed at an affordable price. How far Arianna Anastasia Redelskin had fallen.

And Oh how cynical the laughing child had become. As if to try to banish my depression away, I tried to smile at the thought of owning my own place. That worked for a bit and I found the strength to move enough to get up. I twisted a cap on the bottle and stuck it back in the fridge, where it lay in wait for my new roommate to find and condemn. It was my masquerade, in a sense; A blessing in disguise. I could pretend to be a chronic drinker and no one would ask painful questions.

I paused as I started to straighten up. Then why had I tried to explain myself to a guy I had barely met who came in and annoyed the hell out of me? Why did he need to know? I shut the door and scowled. Whatever. The six ibuprofen I had taken would be kicking in soon and then I'd feel better. Shivering, I went on my search for a blanket. It was so cold…

Lavi's P.O.V.

It was twelve when I finally got a call from Yuu-chan. I was on a mattress on the floor of my room, dozing off in my boxers and a wife beater top when my phone went off. I sleepily rubbed my eye and checked the caller ID, surprised. I'd broken into her place at around seven, where she had promised to call me in half an hour. Where had the time gone? Shrugging off the original feeling of anger, I answered. "What's up, Yuu-chan?"

Right away I could tell she was upset.

"Lavi, please. Stop the…the chan thing." She cut in crossly. "I'm just…sorry it took so long. I was arguing with my roommate and the landlord and it even went all the way up to the dean! But no one thinks she should be kicked out! Nooo! Just because she's rich and snobby she gets to stay in there—"

"Yuu-ch—" I cut myself off. "Yooouuu…really need to calm down. What happened?"

"She'd been drinking!" Yuu exploded angrily, and the heat of her temper seemed to scorch me through the phone. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was people drinking. "She was drinking and they didn't do anything about it! Just a slap on the wrist and a short lecture and she got to stay! It's criminal! It's just absolutely ridiculous! I worked hard to get here and she just pushed a few buttons and BAM! She's in!"

The rant went on for another ten minutes, in which time I successfully stretched, grabbed some pants, and pulled a jacket on with the hood over my messy hair. No success finding my bandana, however. I'd fallen asleep with my eye patch on, which gave me one less thing to think about.

"…I just…I don't know what to do!" She finished, exhaling in a short angry breath.

"Maybe it was water." I suggested, yawning.

There was a pause. "What?" She asked, confused.

"Maybe…" I said dryly. "It wasn't alcohol and that's why they let her off."

"But she said—!" She paused. "I thought…she was…"

I smiled. "Let me hear it. Come on. I missed it."

"Shut up." She said grumpily.

I laughed. "Yes! I waited an entire summer to hear that again!" I glanced at my alarm clock. "You want me to come over and be your authority on the contents of her mysterious drink? I play a pretty good detective, you know."

"No." She sighed. "She's asleep. And she already apologized a lot. I was just…I was mad…and you know…"

"I know." I breathed in through my nose. "Go get some coffee or go for a jog. Sounds like you need to think."

"Just a little." I could hear the smile in her voice. "Thanks, Lavi."

"Anytime!" I answered cheerfully. "Talk to you later."

"Alright. Night." She hung up.

I stood, looking for my shoes in the dim light that came from my laptop. It flashed pictures of different things; me, my friends, the beach, famous authors. It was generic and people wouldn't think anything more of it, which is what I wanted. I didn't need my new roommate sneaking around.

"Speaking of which…" I muttered, peeking me head out the door. I needed to get out of here and go take a look at Yuu's predicament for myself, despite what she said. But with a roommate like Yu Kanda…

At first, I'd been pleasantly surprised and delighted to learn my new best friend had the same name as my high school buddy, foolishly assuming he'd be as laid back as she was about my obnoxious behavior. Oh, how wrong I was. My fellow freshman had me begging to know where the pavilion where God hid his face was in hopes that maybe the big man upstairs could save me from the devil himself. He would not appreciate it if I broke the dorm lockdown he enforced with an iron fist and a sharpened sword.

Seeing no trace of him, I quickly stepped towards the door. Seeing my shoes thrown carelessly in a corner, I picked them up and carefully unlocked the door. I was half-way out the door to freedom and a painless escape when a thunk next to my head informed me I had almost been skewered by a katana.

"Where the hell are you going?" A cold voice demanded of me.

"Helping…someone…?" I swallowed. How did a murderer like him get into this school? Was the dean high on something when he saw the application?

Yu Kanda…

18…

Hobbies: slicing, slicing small animals, slicing people, making them scream…

"Fine, but you're sleeping in your car." He pulled his sword out of the wall and kicked the small of my back. "Out now."

The door slammed, knocking me in the head, and I was forced out into the night air by my new roommate. Pleasant chap. Maybe we could be friends if he'd get over that murderous habit of his…

I froze as I realized I'd forgotten my keys in my room, yet again. As well as my phone. And there was no way I was getting back in there until eight thirty tomorrow morning. Great…now I had to avoid police looking for murderers at twelve at night that pretty much fit my description and get to Yuu's apartment before she came back from her jog on the beach. Muttering angrily, I pulled on my shoes and set off on a mile and a half run towards campus.

Ari's P.O.V.

I can't believe I came awake when he first knocked on the door. I was zoned out from my medication during the fight with Yuu and the dean, who was the only one besides the nurse and myself that was aware of my current situation. I'd apologized profusely and crashed, entering a blissfully dreamless state that suppressed everything I'd have to deal with in the morning.

I threw off the blanket and got up off my bed, hugging my arms against the imminent cold. Opening the door, I blinked in surprise. "Wha…?"

Yuu's friend from before was leaned over, his hair untidy under the hood of his jacket and hanging in his face, his hands on his knees as he gasped for air. Oh how I envied his spacious lungs…

"You…Yuu….Yuu-chan…" He swallowed and straightened up, throwing the hood off. "She here…?"

"I…I don't know…" I opened the door a little wider, confused and cold and tired. "Did you want to come in?" How had he gotten past campus security, I'd never know. Such a strange boy.

"Thanks." He came in and glanced around. "Good. She's gone."

I raised an eyebrow. "If you're not here for her then—"

"I came because she was upset about the bottle thing." He cut in.

"Oh." I said awkwardly, looking at my feet. "It's over now. I don't think she's quite so upset so…" When I looked back up to tell him he could leave, my breath caught in my throat. He had somehow gotten past me and gotten into the fridge, one of my bottles in his hand. He sniffed at it. "Wow. It's really not beer."

I held my breath, expecting him to ask, a lie ready on my lips.

He didn't say anything, this strange boy, but put the bottle back in the fridge.

He smiled at me. "You win. It wasn't beer. I owe you a pizza or something."

Pizza. The thought of food made my stomach growl impatiently. I hadn't eaten since noon. I clutched at it and looked up at him shyly, embarrassed. "Sorry…"

"No problem." He turned to the cupboards and started opening them. "I'm hungry too. Had to run all the way over here. What do you want to eat?"

I was a little confused. This guy must be good friends with Yuu to be comfortable with opening cupboards and stealing her food. I decided to go along with it. He didn't seem murderous and/or creepy. I wasn't going to get raped. "Uhh…cheese sandwich?" I said the first thing that came to my mind.

He grabbed the bread and waved it at me. "Coming right up. My name's Lavi, by the way."

"I'm Ari."

"I know."

We smiled at each other for a bit before he ducked down to find a pan. Returning victorious from his dig of our drawers down below, he slipped off his jacket and set the thing down. His black wife beater rose up on his stomach, revealing briefly well defined abs. Marveling briefly at these, my eyes unconsciously ran down the trail of hair that started at his belly button and disappeared into his boxers. Then, blushing, I turned away. "Umm…your pants have been…I mean they're…"

He looked down. "Oh. Oops." He turned away and buttoned up his pants. "Sorry…I kinda dressed in a hurry and they're baggy anyway without the belt—" He interrupted himself as he zipped them up. "Um yeah. You totally didn't want to know that."

I laughed awkwardly. "Not really."

He scratched the back of his head and grabbed the pan. "Sorry…It's a guy thing…"

"I noticed that too." I said without thinking.

He shot me a look, his only visible eyebrow raised and his emerald eye half lidded with a 'did you really just say that' look.

I blushed deeply. "That's not as bad as the pants thing…" I muttered, a little angry now. If the eye patch freak was going to make fun of me then I'd kick him out.

But he shrugged it off, laughing. "You're right. You win again."

I smiled, my anger gone. Nobody ever told me I won. Ever. Not even when it was obvious I had won. I liked this strange boy.

Yuu's P.O.V.

When I came back, it was well after three. Yet still, I could smell coffee brewing as I opened the door and hear voices. I stiffened. Drugged friends of the offender, possibly? I chanced it and opened the door all the way.

"Yuu-chan!" I was engulfed in a tight hug and I relaxed. It was only Lavi.

He broke away from me and beamed as he looked me over. "I think you grew an inch!"

"Shut up!" I laughed and shut the door. "What're you doing here at three in the morning?"

"I got kicked out of my apartment by my roommate, the samurai nazi, so I came here." He shrugged. "Me and Ari have been talking while we waited for you."

I glanced at Ari who was smiling from the couch with a cup of coffee in her hands. I frowned; I'd never seen her smile once since we had met. Yet here comes Lavi and all the sudden it's smiles over coffee and chatting about the weather? I smiled back frostily, my anger for her returning in a new, different and unpleasant way.

She was trying to take my man after she'd made a fool out of me. I'd never forgive her.

~ So there's the end of the first chapter. Let me know what you think please. I'd like to know. :D~