A/N: Yeah, I got bored waiting for a vote, so I'm just gonna keep going.

I walked off the bus, grimacing at the slight spritzing of the rain. I narrowly avoided a large puddle in the sidewalk, swearing softly at the mere idea of going through school with wet shoes and socks. I adjusted my headphones, making sure they covered both ears. I wasn't actually listening to anything at the moment, I just didn't want people to talk to me. It was too early for conversation, being that it was seven thirty. I watched where I stepped, but looked up at a rumbling sound. I wished I hadn't. Right on the curb sat Mello on his motorcycle, staring at me through his helmet. I took my headphones off, glaring at him.

He took off his helmet to see me better and gave me a smug smirk before shutting down his vehicle. I stepped up to him, fully intending to chew him out. He didn't give me the chance.

"I know, you're pissed. I don't care, though. You keep talking about how amazing this school is, and I wanted to see if it measured up to what you're constantly saying. Besides, I'll blend in more than that little twit you brought last week." He said.

I just stood there. So that's what this was about. Another desperate attempt to be better than Near. God, he needed to get that inferiority complex in check.

"Fine. Go park your bike, then." I grumbled.

Mello gave another smug smirk and turned it back on, riding out into the parking lot. I just turned around and kept walking into the school. He could find me on his own. As I got to the door, Mello put his hand on it, blocking me from opening it. I glared at him, but he just glared right back.

"You aren't gonna get rid of me that easy, bitch." He growled.

I backed off, nodding. Damn, he could be frightening. Mello opened the door, going in before me. I just walked past him towards my first class. He openly stared at everything in the room, going straight for the bull snake.

"Why the fuck is there a small zoo inside your school?" He asked.

I didn't respond. He could figure it out himself. He just proceeded to walk around the room. He stopped at Tiger, who was on top of the papers as he usually was. The orange tabby just looked at Mello, curious as to who this new person was. Mello ignored him, and pulled a few papers from underneath the cat. Looking them over quickly, he put them back down on top of Tiger, who clearly didn't care one way or the other. I sat down in front of the cockatiel's cage, ignoring the bird as he basically screamed at me. Mello plopped down next to me, pulling out a chocolate bar. I got up again, walking over to where the chickens were kept. It was large enough for them, even though it was intended for chicks. They had nowhere else to go at the moment, being that the coop was still being built. After some struggle, I grabbed the hen, bringing her back to my spot. Mello just stared as I plopped the chicken down on the table in front of me. I just looked at him.

"Her name is Anarchy." I said matter of fact-ly.

Mello scoffed and went back to his chocolate, snapping a piece off before actually eating it. I simply pet the hen, who had now sat down on the table. The bell rang, and several kids entered the classroom to take their seats. Five minutes later, after the teacher had explained the basic schedule, we jumped into caring for the animals. My group had the chinchilla, degu, and cockatiel. I simply left Anarchy at my spot before going to clean out the chinchilla's cage. It didn't take long to finish, as all I had to do was sweep out the poop pellets.

I jumped, startled my Mello yelling.

"FUCKING CHICKEN! DON'T BITE ME!" He shouted.

Anarchy, being unable to understand him, just clucked loudly in response before biting at his rosary. Mello yelled again, tearing his rosary away from the mischievous hen. I quickly got over there, picking up Anarchy and putting her back in her cage with the rooster. I sighed. If people hadn't noticed Mello before, they certainly did now.

"DON'T YELL AT THE CHILDREN!" A girl shouted at Mello from across the room.

"SHE WAS BITING ME!" He yelled back.

"SHE'S A CHICKEN, SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANY BETTER!"

Mello just grumbled something under his breath, seeing that he would get nowhere with this person. He sat back down, taking an aggressive bite from his chocolate. I sat down next to him, going straight to my phone for the rest of the class period.

The bell rang, signifying the end of class. I picked my stuff up and walked towards the door, Mello on my heels. We were stopped short by one of my classmates. Seeing who it was, I became worried. It was Jack, one of the many transgender kids in my school. Now, before anyone gets angry, I have no problem with transgenders. In fact, Jack was one of the kindest people in the school. Which is exactly why I was worried about the question that would soon come out of his mouth.

"Hi, um...I'm Jack. I was just wondering, uh….what pronouns do you prefer?" He asked Mello.

Mello stood stock still. Mello hated whenever someone questioned his masculinity, and made that quite clear whenever these situations occurred.

"I. Am a fucking. Dude. WHY CAN'T PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT!?" He yelled.

Jack recoiled. "S-sorry!" He squeaked, running away.

I put my hand to my face. "Great, good going. You just scared the nicest kid in this school. Now a good portion of the student body is going to be mad at you."

Mello shrugged. "He should have realised I'm a guy."

I sighed in exasperation before walking out the door. I walked to the opposite end of the school and went up the stairs to my next class; study hall. Fortunately, it was in the same place as House, so I wouldn't have to move once class ended. As I always did, I dropped my back pack off at my desk, taking out the necessary materials before walking out to a table. Soon after sitting down, another person sat down across from Mello and I. I looked up at them.

She was staring at Mello for a good couple minutes before looking to me.

"Hey, Autumn. Who's this?" She asked.

I had to think fast. "Uh, this is Viktor."

She furrowed her brow. "Viktor, huh? Where's he from?"

Think. "Russia. He's a friend of mine, and he's visiting from college, since he has the day off today."

She looked back to Mello. "Cool. Does he have any hobbies?"

"Figure skating." I said. I slapped myself mentally. I should've just said no!

She looked back to me. "Really? Sweet! What's his last name?"

Okay, can't say Nikiforov, that'll be too suspicious. "Plisetsky." Smooth.

She looked back to Mello. "Do you speak English?" She enunciated.

It was a wonder Mello didn't throw a pen at her head. "Yes, I'm fluent." He said, with a very light Russian accent. Damn, he could fake really well.

The girl smiled. She opened her mouth to say more, but was interrupted my Mello.

"Before you ask, I'm not looking for any sort of relationship. I already have someone from college." He said stiffly.

The girl looked disappointed for a moment, but quickly bounced back to her previously flirty demeanor. "Okay. Well, if it doesn't work out, come find me."

She walked away, swaying her hips as she went. I rolled my eyes. Mello turned to me.

"Why am I Russian?

"Because, I know that you're originally Eastern European or something, so I just went with Russia." I said.

He nodded, taking a chunk from his chocolate. "Fair enough. What about the names? The first name is common enough, but the last name?"

"..."

"You got it from an anime, didn't you?"

"...yes."

He rolled his eyes. "Dumbass."

I ignored the jab, going back to my work. A half hour passed before something else happened. A guy walked over and sat right where the girl had been. Looking up, I found that I recognized the brown haired boy. I couldn't remember his name, but I knew that he was openly gay. Which most likely meant he had set his sights on Mello. I hid my face in my notebook, both dreading and loving the situation.

"Hey. I'm Mark. Summer says you're from Russia?" He said. THAT was his name.

Mello nodded, taking another chunk from his bar.

Mark smiled. "Nice. I know a little bit of Russian, but not much. So, your name is Viktor?"

Mello nodded again.

"Cool. How long you here in the U.S. for, Viktor?"

"One more year after this. Then I go back home." Mello grumbled.

Mark looked concerned. "Really? You don't seem very excited."

Mello glared at him. "No, I'm not. Mostly because my 'kind' aren't accepted."

Mark's worry deepened. "Can't you stay in America?"

Mello shook his head frustratedly. "No. I'm reaching the end of my legal time, here. Besides, as long as I'm not public about it, nothing happens."

Mark's expression changed to one of determination. "Then I'll help you get your green card."

Mello looked stunned for a moment, then laughed. "No, you will not. I'm not going to marry someone simply to stay in the United States. In Russia, I'm simply not allowed to dress like this! I still like women, but as long as I don't make my desire for men also known, nothing changes. You should go, now. You're simply embarrassing yourself at this point."

Mark looked heartbroken for a moment, before steeling himself and getting up. "I was only trying to help, jackass."

He walked away in a huff.

Mello chuckled and looked back to me. "What's up with him?"

I sighed. "I don't know much about him other than that he's a hopeless romantic, to the point where he can't get a boyfriend."

Mello scoffed. "Clearly. How many more people do you think will bother me?"

I stared at him. "Probably a lot, since you literally just confessed to being bisexual. I didn't even know that."

Mello groaned and put his forehead on the table. I smirked and patted his back patronizingly. He simply swatted my arm away. I just giggled and went back to my notebook.

Another thirty minutes passed before the bell rang. Mello jumped, startled by the sudden noise. I simply stayed where I was. Unfortunately, unlike normally, people crowded into the seats surrounding my table. I grimaced, doing my best to ignore them. Damn that 'Summer' girl, gossip spread fast.

Most of the students were girls, with a couple of guys thrown in there as well. Damn, why was Mello so popular? He was a jackass to all four of the people he'd interacted with so far. I mean, sure, he was pretty good looking, and was nicer if he liked you (though not by much), but no one knew about the second thing for all they knew, he was an ass through and through. I paid no attention to the conversation until someone recognized his names.

"So, Viktor Plisetsky, huh? You ever seen an anime called 'Yuri on Ice?'" The girl asked.

I stiffened, but Mello didn't miss a beat. "No, I'm not a fan of anime. My college friend tried introducing me to it, but I just didn't like it."

The student looked crestfallen. However, another student piped up.

"Well, you might actually like this one! It's about figure skating! Summer said that you skate."

Mello shook his head. "I don't skate much. It is only a hobby, I've never wanted to compete."

The teacher started talking then, so everyone quieted down. I didn't pay much attention, but neither did the rest of the students. They kept glancing at Mello, and one tried to take a picture. Mello saw this, and snatched the phone away.

"No one will take my picture. Understand?" He growled.

The girl nodded meekly and he gave her back her phone after snorting in derision. The rest of the hour before lunch passed by quietly, without further incident. Once we were dismissed for lunch, though, I beelined it away from Mello to my desk. He didn't get the chance to follow me, as he was soon surrounded by other students asking him questions.

He looked startled and pissed off, but mostly pissed. I smirked and went to eat my lunch. A few minutes later, Mello stormed over with a gaggle of students at his heels.

"I'm fucking leaving. They won't leave me the fuck alone. It's like they think I'm some sort of man-whore!" He snapped.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Near was able to stay longer. He stayed until twelve ten. Surely you can find something to occupy yourself until at least then?" I said. I was intentionally preying on his stupid inferiority complex in order to get him to stay. I just wanted to see how long it would take until he hit someone.

Mello was seething. "Dammit, bitch! I know exactly what you're trying to do!"

I looked at him pointedly. "But is it working?"

Mello was shaking, now. Damn, he was MAD. "Yes. Unfortunately, it is. I'm going to get you for this." He threatened.

I smirked. "Sure. Now, what are you gonna do about your little fan club?"

Mello grinned. It wasn't a nice grin. He fixed a scowl on his face and whirled around. He yelled something in what I assumed to be Russian, and everyone quieted down.

"Good, that got your attention. Now, all of you listen. I don't care for your stupid questions. If you don't all shut up and leave me the fuck alone, I will beat all of your sorry asses black and blue. If you continue to bother me after THAT, I'll break an arm and a leg each. You all already know everything you need to know. I'm from Russia, my name is Viktor Plisetsky, and I'm currently attending college here before I go back home in a year. No one needs to know anything else, and no one is GOING to know anything else! GOT THAT?!" He ranted.

The students had various reactions. Some were frightened, and others just grudgingly obeyed. Most were shocked, and numbly complied, walking away. Once everyone had trickled away, he slumped down next to me on the floor. He reached into his pocket and took out another chocolate bar. I was starting to wonder where he actually KEPT all of them. He looked to me.

"I'm bored, now. Give me something to do." He demanded.

I rolled my eyes, handing him the book we were currently reading for class. He looked at it, then opened it up and began reading. At least he was quiet.

After forty minutes, the bell signaling the end of lunch rang. Looking back to Mello, I discovered that he was already just a few pages from the end. I got up, trying to think of something else to give him. I really didn't have much. I had a couple textbooks, but he most likely already knew everything in them, with how much he studied. I sat down at my table, Mello soon following. He looked at me pointedly, and I knew exactly what he wanted to ask.

"Yes, you have now stayed here longer than Near did." I sighed.

Mello smirked. "Damn straight. I'm gonna go now, before more people bother me."

At that, he stood up and left. Kids watched him go, and a few were quite obviously staring at his butt. Not that I blamed them, the leather worked in his favor in that area. But it was still weird. Once he was out of sight, the students blew up in gossip about him. Thankfully, no one came to me, but it was still strange to hear my fellow students talking about my frenemy like that.

To ignore their chatter, I simply put on my headphones and turned up the volume. Hopefully they would forget in a few days.