September 2nd

Working at night never helped Yuri waking up easily in the morning, and today was no exception. Well at least he had managed to arrive on time for his first class, after ten whole minutes looking for the lecture hall. Even if the campus wasn't big, there were very few or no signs, and no map. He let his bag fall at his feet and dropped unceremoniously on the chair while waiting for the lecturer to come; the room was already almost full with students chatting together.

"Hi! Can I sit there?" a girl asked Yuri, pointing to the seat next to him.

"Sure." he replied nonchalantly. He didn't even bother looking at her, yet the latter didn't give up. As soon as she was seated, she tried starting a conversation:

"My name's Millie. Are you new here? I'm pretty sure I never saw you last year."

Yuri sighed mentally. Was everyone going to ask him the same question whenever they saw him?

"Yeah, I just arrived here. Pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, where do you come from?"

Now that was a question Yuri definitely disliked, but his insolent luck saved him as the door opened and the lecturer came in. Yuri raised an eyebrow when he saw the man who walked in. He definitely didn't look like a lecturer, more like some sort of lab scientist who obviously lacked sleep. 'Well at least that makes one thing we have in common.' he thought.

The man had messy dark gray hair tied into a not-less-messy sort of ponytail and the long coat he was wearing made Yuri wonder if the guy had any notions of 'season' whatsoever.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, but especially you ladies!" The man winked at some girls with a broad smile. "My name's Raven Schwann and I'm glad to see you in my class today! I hope you won't desert half-way like many of your predecessors did before you." he added with a joking tone, which resulted in chuckles, snorts and various other sounds Yuri failed at identifying. "Anyway! Let's not waste more time and start our first lesson! Sciences and civilizations, ladies and gentlemen..."

Yuri tried his best to listen and even take a few notes during the lecture though he had some doubts about the man's integrity, especially towards the female population. Well, at least Yuri had to admit he was kind of fun. The two hours of lectures passed pretty quickly and soon enough, Yuri was on his way to his next class, which was...

"... Project management."

Yuri turned his head to where the voice came from and saw the same guy from the day before – Flynn, wasn't it? – walking in the same direction as him, escorted by several girls who were obviously trying to get all his attention.

"Oh, really? I should have picked that course as well, it sounded interesting!"

"I picked it! We'll be in the same class!"

"Yes, we will." Flynn replied with a smile.

Yuri smirked as he noticed the faint signs of annoyance on Flynn's face and pondered whether to help him or not, since he could sympathize very easily with him.

Flynn Scifo was a well-versed master in the arts of keeping his cool and not letting his real thoughts get visible; it was almost natural for him to keep smiling and be courteous towards everyone, even if they annoyed him to no end. It was also his daily routine to have girls flocking around him and insisting on accompanying him to his classes as if they feared something bad could happen on his way. And today was no exception.

"Flyyyynn! What class do you have now?"

"Hi, Linda. I'm on my way to Project management." Flynn replied with a gracious smile.

"Oh, really? I should have picked that course as well, it sounded interesting!"

"I picked it! We'll be in the same class!"

"Yes, we will." Flynn cursed his luck.

And yet, it seemed that Lady Luck hadn't forsaken him completely, for the next second, an arm wrapped around his shoulders while a voice rose next to him:

"Oooh Flynn! What a pleasure to see you again! So you're taking that course too, huh? I guess that means we'll be together then!"

It didn't take long for Flynn to identify his saviour, even if he wasn't very comfortable with such a close contact with someone he barely knew.

"Y-Yuri! Yes indeed, we will." he replied a bit awkwardly. He heard some protests from the girls behind him, but Yuri reacted very quickly and turned to them and gave them his nicest smile:

"Hey I'm borrowing him for a while. I'm new here and he promised me to show me around so I don't get lost. You don't mind right?" he added with a wink.

"Ah, n-no of course not! W-We'll see you later, Flynn!" the girls blushed slightly and hurried to their respective classes.

Before Flynn could even say anything, Yuri had removed his arm and was now smirking.

"You owe me one." he said, sounding very satisfied.

Flynn frowned. What kind of attitude was that? Definitely not one he approved of.

"I never asked for your help." he replied dryly.

"Oh come on, a little thanks would have been enough. Not that I need it, anyway."

"And please, refrain from acting so familiar with me next time." Flynn went on, completely ignoring the other's remark.

"Ah, I see. Mr Perfect Boy doesn't want low-ranked people to touch his Majesty." Yuri teased him, which wasn't to Flynn's taste.

"I simply think we aren't close enough for you to treat me so familiarly."

"Fine, fine. I got it. Is that our lecture hall?"

"Yes, it is."

Not paying any further attention to Yuri anymore, Flynn went to sit at the front row, which was usually deserted by most students. It was the only way for him to avoid having undesirable people sitting next to him. To his relief, Yuri didn't follow him and moved to the back of the room. Flynn was usually pretty tolerant, yet the other boy had managed to irritate him within barely two days. It was a record.

Hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with him again.

As soon as he came back home, Flynn dropped on the sofa and let out a loud sigh. He wondered for the hundredth time what the hell he had done in his past life to deserve such bad luck.

To pass the project management course, the students were required to do several assignments in pairs. Naturally the pairs had been decided randomly. Naturally the one Flynn had been paired with was none other than Yuri Lowell. Naturally Flynn was in a rather bad mood for the rest of the day.

This was going to be a tough period for Flynn. Fortunately it was Friday, which meant that weekend was coming and that he would have two days to recover from the accumulation of misfortunes, before starting a new week.

Yuri whistled as he dropped his bag on the floor and stretched his arms. He looked at his watch. He still had two hours before going to work, which meant one hour and forty-five minutes to sleep and fifteen minutes to have dinner.

Working at night wasn't his favourite activity, but at least they paid more. Still, it wasn't enough to cover for all his expenses, and that's why he also had to work on weekends as well. Well, he was used to such a life, and it was actually not so bad. At least, he never had time to get bored.

And with that last philosophical thought in mind, he put his alarm clock on – just in case –, fell flat on his bed and dozed off, trying not to laugh too much at the face he imagined Flynn must have made when they were announced they'd be paired together.

It was going to be a fun period.

A/N: And another day done. Damn this pairing, making me spend my time writing it instead of studying D: