"Dante, this is your third F this week," Mr. Grayson, Westbrook's history teacher, scolded the sixteen year old as he shoved the young man's feet from the desk for the umpteenth time that lesson. The instructor placed the latest exam on Dante's desk. "And keep your feet off the desk. If I have to tell you one more time, it's detention."

Dante merely rolled his eyes at the threat, too used to being placed in detention to really care. Instead, the half devil addressed the issue of his less than exemplary grades. "Well, if you'd make things more interesting rather than rambling on and boring us all to tears, maybe I'd be more inclined to pay attention." A tiny smirk found it's way to Dante's lips as some of his classmates snickered.

A few seats in front of the troublemaker sat his older brother, Vergil, who was nowhere near as amused as the rest of the class seemed to be. Being a prefect, it was his job to make sure the rest of the students obeyed the rules - better known as "keeping his younger brother in line." Turning around in his seat to face his twin, Vergil sent a glare Dante's way that would make Medusa cringe.

Mr. Grayson just sighed softly, knowing that arguing with Dante at this point would be completely useless. He turned to take his place back in front of the class. Once there, he said, "If your grades continue like this, I will have no choice but to take action and assign Vergil to tutor you."

This definitely got Dante's attention. Spending time with Vergil outside of class and the dorm was the [i]last[/i] thing he wanted, and he knew Vergil shared this concern. The twins preferred not to spend much more time than they were forced to together; whatever free time they came by was usually spent as far away from the other as possible. The two didn't hate each other more than siblings normally do, but they're sibling rivalry always seemed to ignite some sparks.

The remainder of the class dragged on without any other technicalities, since Dante was making a half-assed effort at paying attention. Once the bell rang, the students made a mad dash for the door. Vergil stood after gathering his materials and rushed out the door, weaving through the crowd to catch up to Dante. His silver-haired double came into view after a few seconds and Vergil caught him by the arm before Dante could turn the corner. The younger of the two growled at being grabbed and wheeled around to face his twin. "This couldn't wait 'til we got to our room?"

"No," Vergil replied shortly, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You better start getting those grades up. I do [i]not[/i] want to have to tutor you."

The younger half human just waved his brother off. "Trust me. I have no intention of letting that happen. I get enough of you as it is." After yanking his arm from Vergil's grip, Dante began making the trek back up to their dorm.

Vergil sighed in annoyance, then followed his brother. The eldest twin glimpsed his brother untucking the white button up they had to wear under the navy blue blazer of the school uniform from his khaki pants. "Dante, you know the rules concerning your uniform," he mumbled irritably.

"At least I bothered to tuck it in at all today," replied Dante with a grin. "Besides, classes are over. The fact that we have to stay in these damn uniforms until after dinner is fucking stupid."

Before Vergil could argue with Dante, the sound of their names being shouted from down an adjoining corridor made them both turn toward the voice. A boy with similar silver hair and ice blue eyes was making his way toward the twins. His right arm was in a sling, but not because it was broken. The sling was the method the headmistress had chosen to hide the boy's demonic arm. Even though now he was usually always in the uniform which included a long-sleeved jacket, she still insisted he wear it at least in the warmer months since wearing a t-shirt on the weekends was more preferable. She had reasoned that this would also keep some of the unneeded questions at bay.

"Hello Nero," Vergil greeted his and Dante's room mate with a slight smile. "Have a good day?"

The youngest part devil shrugged. "It was alright. Pretty much the same as every other day." He glanced over at Dante, who had been completely silent since Nero joined the twins, which was out of character for him; normally the middle demon would have made some snide comment by now. "What's wrong with you Dante? You're being much quieter than usual."

Dante scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'm on grade watch." The youngest of the three arched a silver eyebrow as they rounded another corner. With obvious annoyance in his tone, Dante added, "Basically, if I don't decide to get my ass into gear when it comes to my grades, Vergil here will have the honor of tutoring me."

"Did they finally figure out that putting you in detention just wasn't enough anymore?" Nero asked chuckling softly. "I guess the only threat that works on the great Dante is telling him he has to spend time with his brother."

With a growl, Dante placed a hand on Nero's shoulder and shoved the fourteen year old into a statue of the school's founder. The statue wobbled, threatening to topple over at any second. However, Vergil dashed with great agility across the hall and held the man made of stone still. Once he was sure the statue wasn't going to fall, the prefect gripped Nero's forearm and hoisted him to his feet from the tiled floor. He narrowed his eyes at his room mates. "That's enough you two."

Dante just smirked a little at his twin. Nero, however, was steamed about being shoved like that. He huffed and mumbled, "Asshole," under his breath. Without another word, the three half demons continued their tedious walk up to their dorm.

The three reached the last flight of stairs that led to their floor, but before they could climb them, a voice yelled out from behind them. "Well, if it isn't the dumbass, the goody two shoes, and the klutz who regularly breaks his arm. I hate to break it to you, but the freak show left town weeks ago."

Dante, Vergil, and Nero grimmaced simultaneously as they faced the teen who had insulted them, none of them surprised when they saw who it was. It was Ty Lowden and his two cronies William Ausley and Alphonso Hickerson. Ty had been holding a grudge on Dante and Vergil ever since the twins began formal classes. The grudge was petty in the grand scheme of things; Ty simply despised the half demon twins for beating him and one of his buddies in the finals of a dodgeball tournament in a PE class. Ever since, the tall brunette had attempted to make the boys' school life hell, poor Nero being dragged into the mix because they all shared a room.

"You better watch who you call a dumbass, Ty," Dante growled menacingly, taking a step toward the challengers. "I'm sure you remember what happened last time you tried to pick a fight with me."

Ty had to force himself not to wince or reach up for his nose. The last time Dante spoke of had landed Ty a broken nose. Smiling mischeiviously, the brunette responded, "It was a lucky shot and you and I both know it. And, if I remember correctly, you had to clean every bathroom in the school for a month after that."

The eldest of the three devils had to seize the back of Dante's blazer in order to keep him from mauling his classmate, even though Vergil knew full well he would deserve it. Dante always came back from those detentions raving about how Ty and his crew had intentionally dirtied some of the bathrooms for him. Unfortunately, the prefect was never able to catch them in the act so could do nothing about it. "Go to your dorm, or Headmistress Connoly will be hearing that you three are picking fights again. I'm sure she won't be pleased after telling you guys to cut it out a million times already."

Surprisingly, Ty, William, and Alphonso actually seemed threatened by Vergil's warning because they sneered at him, then turned to leave again. Before the three were out of earshot, however, Ty could be heard saying, "Fucking wuss. Always running off to the headmistress..." William and Alphonso sniggered before they disappeared from the boys' sight.

A low growl escaped Dante's lip again as he straightened his jacket out some. "Damn it Vergil. Can't you just let us show them who they're messing with just once?" He turned to Nero, who had preferred watching the exchange almost hiding behind Vergil, and smirked. "I'm sure even the kid wouldn't mind getting in on the action."

Before Vergil could respond, the youngest of the three snarled, "Stop calling me kid! And I'm sick of you picking on me!" and stormed up the stairs away from his room mates.

Dante merely chuckled at Nero's outburst. "I love getting him all fired up like that."

Vergil gave his twin a severe look before smacking him over the back of the head. "You really need to stop calling him a kid. He's only two years younger than us and you wouldn't like it if someone was constantly calling you a kid." The twins turned and began climbing the stairs after their room mate. "And to answer your question, no, I can't. It could put our secret in jeopardy"

Scowling, the middle half demon stayed silent, knowing that Vergil's tone entailed that was the end of the matter whether he liked it or not. But what he wouldn't give just to show them who was boss.

The white-haired twins reached the set of stairs that led to their door. As they ascended them, Vergil muttered, "Apologize to Nero."

"What? No! I'm not-" But before Dante could finish his statement, Vergil had pushed the door open and shoved his brother inside. The youngest of the trio was sat cross-legged on his bed, glaring down at his math textbook and pretending to be studying. His sling was hanging on his headboard, and it was plain to see that the claws of his devil bringer digging into the back cover of the book.

Dante rubbed the back of his neck, knowing he may have pushed Nero a little too far this time, considering he had never seen him so pissed before. He shrugged off his uniform jacket and tossed it onto his bed. "Look ki-" Vergil and Nero both sent Dante a death glare. "Nero. I'm sorry," he finished in a rush before plopping down on his bed and hiding behind one of his pornos.

Glancing at Vergil, Nero saw that the eldest part human was just as unsatisfied with that apology as he was and decided to push it, figuring he had Vergil's full support. "Well, if that's true, then you should have no problem finishing this math assignment for me." Vergil sent him a small smile as he too shrugged his blazer off.

"You've got to be kidding," snorted Dante, not looking up from his magazine. "I'm already behi-"

"You're doing it, Dante. Maybe this will teach you not to take advantage of Nero."

After seeing the serious look Vergil wore and the smirk Nero was giving, Dante knew he had been defeated. "You both suck, you know that?" He tossed his magazine onto his bedside table and stood. Dante yanked the book from Nero's grip and stole his pencil before returning to his own bed.

Nero and Vergil exchanged satisfied looks before engaging in their own activities until it was time for them to make the trip back to the main floor for dinner.