A/N: Alright, gang, here it is: my obligatory college AU. I wasn't going to start it right now, but I hit kind of a wall while writing an Orphan Collective chapter (it's based on the episode Holy Night, and it ended up being way longer than I thought it would be). So, here's this! Who knows when I'll update it, I've got a lot of balls in the air, but I thought I'd get it going and see what you all think :)

Hope you enjoy!

Rating: T for now

Disclaimer: If they were mine, would my bank account read $12.53?

Reviews: Yes please! Always.

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"And, this is it. Our main street. It's not much, we're not really 'downtown.' We've got our own bubble, if you stay on main campus. Which you will for now, given your classes. But, I can find you the good night life if that's what you're looking for."

"Um." Donna hesitates. Her first day in Cambridge has been nothing if not a whirlwind. Her roommate, Stella, a senior sociology major, has gone to every length to make her feel at home, but Donna can't help but be overwhelmed. Stella certainly knows the ins and outs of the campus better than any freshman or sophomore would, but Donna almost regrets deciding against dorm living. She'd probably have stronger camaraderie with someone equally as scared and intimidated. "Yeah, maybe."

"Great! There's a 'welcome back' party I'm going to tonight, wanna tag along?"

"I don't know. Kinda tired..."

"Oh, it'll be fun! You can meet people. Seniors. Get some street cred." Stella jokes, as if they're still in high school.

Donna gives a wan smile. "Maybe."

"Plus, classes don't start for a few days. It's not like you have to be up early tomorrow." Stella keeps walking, enthusiastically reasoning with her new roommate. Her outgoing personality is admittedly infectious.

"Fair enough."

"This is probably a bit much, huh? I've never been to Wisconsin, but something tells me it's... Quieter."

Donna snorts. "Actually, we're a pretty big party school."

"Oh yeah?"

"They're." She corrects. "I meant, they're a pretty big party school."

"Is that why you wanted to transfer?"

If only things were that simple. "Sort of. I jut wanted... More. I wanted a challenge."

"Fair enough. Well, you found it. Welcome to the ivy covered hallowed halls of Harvard." Stella chuckles, and shoots Donna a conspiratorial grin. "It's not as scary as it seems right now. Trust me - if I can hack it, you can."

Donna folds her arms and smiles back shyly. She gazes out at the numerous redbrick buildings, and through an archway to the grassy quad. She thinks about the intellectual giants who have walked this campus, the ideas that were born here and the dreams fulfilled. She takes a deep breath. She made the right choice.

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That night, against her better judgment, Donna finds herself wading into a crowded fraternity house behind her new roommate. She truly is tired, and had wanted to settle in for the night an hour ago, but Stella had argued and cajoled and promised her they'd be back within an hour. She wanted to see some friends, she had told her, and she couldn't very well walk alone, could she? "Not that the campus isn't safe! It totally is, but, you know."

Donna told Stella she should consider law school for her post graduate plans, if she hadn't already. Stella laughed.

It's not that Donna doesn't love a good party. She does. But, after enough nights spent in a frat house hoping her boyfriend would take a long enough break in between keg stands to notice her, the thrill of college parties had somewhat worn off.

Anyway, she certainly hadn't come to Harvard for the parties. The exact opposite, actually. At least these Ivy Leaguers must hold gatherings that are a bit more intellectual than their UW counterparts, she hopes.

As she walks into the frat, that hope goes to hell.

"Stella, wait for me!" Donna shouts over the music. Her roommate reaches back through the throng of people drinking on the front steps and allows Donna to grasp her hand.

"You're lucky you're cute, or you would be seriously embarrassing me right now." Stella tells her with a smile as she pulls her through the foyer. Someone's bed sheets are hanging off the balcony in a rope, presumably because some idiot already tried to climb down them. The place is packed wall to wall with students, as is the staircase and the upstairs as far as the eye can see.

Donna vaguely considers asking Stella to let her clip their belts together to make sure they aren't separated.

"Come on, this way." Stella leads her into what she presumes is the kitchen. "I'm gonna grab a drink, you want anything?"

"Um, no thanks, I'm good." Donna looks warily at the keg. Tonight is definitely not the night to make a drunken fool of herself. Classes haven't even started yet, and she doesn't need a bad first impression hanging over her head.

Stella shrugs and starts to pour herself a drink. "Okay."

Just then, a loud round of squealing interrupts them. After a minute it becomes clear that a group of girls near the door to the yard is screaming "Stella!"

One grabs Donna's lifeline and yanks her outside to catch up, and suddenly Donna is very much alone. Beside a keg. Surrounded by strangers.

This year doesn't seem to be going a whole lot differently than last.

Realizing she's in the war path of people trying to get booze, Donna shuffles off to the side and into another room. She immediately recognizes an intense game of beer pong taking place on the table. Students are cheering wildly from all sides, and Donna is quietly relieved. If she steps against the wall, she can easily blend in and watch the game. It might even be entertaining.

Just as she's working her way toward a spot by the window, one of the players scores, and commences celebrating. He jumps around wildly and knocks heavily into Donna. Donna tries valiantly to maintain her balance, but Beer Pong is not a small guy, and his fans (also jumping up and down) aren't exactly helping the situation. Before she can hit the ground, someone grabs her arm and steadies her.

She turns to thank her savior, but he's not looking at her. He's rolling his eyes at Beer Pong. "Hey, asshole!" He calls. Beer Pong turns around with an expectant look on his face. "Try not to flatten any of the fans, yeah?"

Beer Pong grins and claps him on the back. "You got it!" He slurs. He gives Donna an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

Donna chokes back a laugh at his drunken sincerity. "No worries."

Beer Pong returns to his match, which he is evidently winning. Behind him, his hype man takes his hand off Donna's arm and finally makes eye contact with her. "Sorry about Mick. He's an idiot." He says flatly.

"Well sure, but he's got great aim."

He gives her a disarmingly dimpled smile. "Only when he's hammered."

"That's the only time he needs it." Donna reasons.

Beer Pong and Co. start calling for him to rejoin them, and he gives her another smile and a "Sorry" before disappearing back into the throng of revelry. Donna shakes her head. Why'd she even bother? It's useless to engage a frat boy, Ivy League or otherwise.

Within a couple minutes, Stella appears beside her. "There you are! Sorry, lost you there for a minute."

"It's okay."

"C'mon, let me introduce you to some people."

"Sounds good."

Stella notices her distant expression and rolls her eyes. "And then we can go home."

Donna brightens considerably. "Promise?"

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"Aw, look at my baby! They grow up so fast."

Donna rolls her eyes. "You've known me for four days."

Stella ignores her. "It's your first day of classes! Should I get the camera?"

"I'm leaving now."

"Look at her, so aloof! Already a true Harvard girl."

"Bye!"

"Wait, what's your first class?"

"I already told you."

"I forgot. I know it's at Sever because I walked the route with you yesterday, but I forget who it's with."

"It's How Television Changed American Elections with Professor Raulston. And it starts at nine, so I should really-"

"Oh, he's good. It's 200 level, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, good luck."

"Thanks." Donna opens their front door.

"Be safe!" Stella calls after her. "I left a note in your lunchbox!"

Donna sticks her tongue out before closing the door behind her.

Fifteen minutes later, Donna is happily situated in the front row of her classroom, materials out and waiting for the professor. He strolls in within a few minutes, and gives his assembled class a genial smile.

"Good morning!" He greets.

"Good morning," the class echoes back tiredly. Donna is one of the few to match his enthusiasm.

Professor Raulston shakes his head, amused. "I expected better. Where's the youth, the vigor that your generation is supposed to contain?" He's met, predictably, with a few smiles and numerous blank stares. "Well then. Could someone help me to pass out the syllabi?"

After a few seconds pause, Donna raises her hand. Why not make a good impression? Raulston gives her a grateful smile and passes her a stack of papers.

"Thank you, Ms..."

"Moss," she supplies.

"Ms. Moss. I had hoped to have my TA do such menial tasks for me, but it appears he has yet to grace us with his presence, so..." He trails off as Donna wends her way back to the second row. "Nevermind! If you could all look at the top of the page, I've outlined your reading for the semester. I may add a few articles of interest, or decide to skip a chapter here and there, we'll play it by ear. This should give you a rough idea, however..."

Professor Raulston is a typical looking sixty-something academic, complete with tweed coat and elbow patches. He wears thick coke bottle glasses, though his eyes are sharp and bright behind them. Donna finds herself at ease in his presence, which is a pleasant surprise. She'd looked into his accolades and research, and expected him to be intimidating and hard to relate to.

She's doubly surprised to find that she has no trouble keeping up with his introductory lecture. Admittedly, he's probably taking it easy on them since it's their first day, but still. She takes notes just in case.

"-and that was the nail in Nixon's coffin. He couldn't recover. He was now forever known to the public as old, curmudgeonly, and hostile. Of course we know that he'll bounce back in a few years, in a big way, but that was it in 1960. Now if that debate had been broadcast solely over radio-" Raulston stops abruptly as his classroom door opens. He narrows his eyes as the young man in the doorway gives him a sheepish smile and closes the door behind him. "Joshua," he greets.

"Professor." He takes a few steps inside, hesitating in front of the full classroom. He has his backpack slung over one shoulder and a cup of coffee in hand. "Sorry I'm late."

"Don't be sorry to me, be sorry to them."

"Would you believe that I got lost?"

"Considering you came to this classroom almost every day lay year, I'm going to say no."

Josh gives him another sheepish grin. Donna recognizes him suddenly as the frat boy from her first night. "I overslept."

"At the coffee shop?" Raulston inquires, smiling subtly. He turns to his class before Josh can answer. "Class, this is my TA, Josh. He'll be doing some grading, possibly some teaching this semester. If he can manage to show up on time."

Josh gives them all a wave. "Hi."

From behind her, Donna hears at least one girl call out "Hi" back.

Raulston rolls his eyes. "Sit at my desk, Josh."

"You got it, boss."

Donna watches as he slinks to the front of the room and takes a seat behind the desk. He pulls out a textbook that doesn't appear to be for this class and starts reading. Donna shakes her head in mild disapproval and returns her attention to Professor Raulston, who has resumed his lecture.

Donna manages to forget the presence of the frat-boy-turned-TA until Raulston addresses him again toward the end of the class.

"I generally argue that television has made government work more transparent, but I've recently begun to consider some counterpoints to that narrative. For example, my TA-" Raulston looks expectantly at Josh, who is currently absorbed in taking notes from his textbook. "Josh-" he emphasizes pointedly, finally causing him to look up, "-wrote a very compelling paper last year on the ways that public perception has actually become more shallow."

"Oh yeah." Josh recalls.

"Would you like to speak on that?" Raulston prompts.

"Sure." Josh says easily. "Right, so, a lot of media theory focuses on-"

"Stand up, Josh."

"Right." Josh gets out of his chair and starts to pace the front of the classroom. Raulston moves out of his way, hiding a smile. "A lot of media theory focuses on the way that government action became more visible, and was made to be more interesting to the everyday viewer once television became widespread. But in my research last year, I worked on a theory in which television actually made it easier to divert the public's attention to more cosmetic issues, while keeping them away from the real inner workings of government. It necessitated that stories be dramatic and interesting, which led news media to focus on the sensational stories of the day, instead of long term investigative journalism. Essentially, it made both the media and the average media consumer more stupid."

Donna watches her TA appraisingly. She supposes she'd judged him too harshly. He had to have landed the gig somehow. He's smart, that much is obvious, and there's something appealing about the way he's easily carried away while speaking on something he finds interesting.

Still obnoxious as all hell, though, she decides.

Raulston folds his arms. "Bold words, my boy."

"No offense, to, ya know, average media consumers like yourself." A couple students chuckle. "It's still possible to be a critical viewer, but the twenty-four hour news cycle has made it harder. Everyone has a shorter attention span these days. They move on too quickly, and forget about things that are still going on."

"Except for yourself, of course, Josh?"

"Of course, Professor."

Raulston laughs and returns to the front of the classroom, effectively dismissing his TA. "Alright. We'll get into more of this throughout the course, I just wanted to give you all a taste. Today was broad view, Wednesday we start in on the small scope. We'll begin with the 1940s. I will see you all then. Class dismissed."

Donna starts to get her things together, smiling to herself. If all of her classes are anything like this one, it's going to be a good semester.

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Okay so for all y'all out there who like to fact check me: generally speaking most Harvard undergraduates live in campus housing all four years. But, uhh, I didn't want them to? So let's all just suspend disbelief, as per usual ;)

So, what do you guys think? Seem fun? I'm enjoying writing it. I've got big plans too, that extend this AU like six years into the future lol.

Thanks for reading!