Sherwood Heights was the old-but-cozy street of converted, Victorian houses on which Allan, Will, Marian, and Djaq all lived. Most of the tenants were students at the university. The rent was low, and the street was close to campus, making it an ideal spot. The old landlord, Eddie Fitzwalter, had been a caring sort of man: though most of the students were in violation of their leases, he let them stay anyway. The man standing outside, however, was not Eddie Fitzwalter.

"Name," he demanded flatly as Allan tried to gain access to the building.

"Allan A Dale," he muttered, tapping his foot as the man flipped through a list on a clipboard. "Not being funny, but who are you?" The man ignored him, jabbing his finger onto the paper in front of him.

"Allan A Dale," the man announced. "Noise violations. Repeat offender. Failure to pay rent on schedule. Definite violation of your lease." Allan's protest caught in his throat. The way that the man had rattled off the charges, one would assume that Allan was some sort of miscreant. While he did admit that he was appropriately roguish (it was popular with the ladies), he took offense to the black and white approach the man was taking. He did his best to remain calm.

"Right, look. The noise violation bit… I'm working on a music degree. I got a little too carried away practicing, alright? Eddie and I took care of it. Will and I soundproofed the room. And as for the rent… Well, I have a personal situation," Allan admitted quietly.

"Oh, blah di blah di blah," the man rolled his eyes. "Do I look like 'Eddie' to you? A clue: no. My name is Norman Vaysey, the new proprietor of this building. And you, my friend, have two weeks to pack up and get out."

"Hold on a minute," Allan blurted out. "Most of us are in violation of our leases. You plan to kick everyone out of the building?"

"Yes, actually," Vaysey admitted flatly. "Now, if you could start moving out as soon as possible, that would be appreciated."

"Where are we all supposed to go?" Allan demanded angrily.

"Not my problem," Vaysey replied, opening the door for Allan. Allan stormed inside, stomping up to his flat. Along the way, he could hear the multitude of angry phone calls and panicked tenants scrambling to gather their belongings.

Once he was over the initial shock, he pulled out his phone, punching in the first number he could think of.

"Hey, Morgan. It's Allan," he began. "Bit of a problem, actually."

---

"The horror! The horror!" Carter wailed, tossing the half-empty bowl of popcorn into the air, raining kernels down on the sitting room. Much rolled his eyes.

"You're addicted, Carter, and I'm not picking that up," he muttered. Carter grinned, scooping up the bits of popcorn scattered across the room.

"You forget that I'm in TV and film studies, Much. I'm not addicted; I'm studious. Tomorrow, we're watching The Goodfellas," he announced as Much shut off the television.

"Well, it may be studying to you, but I don't think that I'll be able to show small children gangster movies," he pointed out.

"You're the one who decided to going into teaching," Carter argued playfully. "Though why you chose primary school is beyond me."

"I like little kids. They listen to me, unlike you lot," Much said, only half joking. "Speaking of little kids, what's taking Morgan and Robin so long?" He changed the subject, nibbling at his thumbnail. Even though they'd made the promise to go study, he hadn't expected them to be gone for over three hours. Carter shrugged.

"You don't suppose…" Much half suggested, hesitating to say it out loud. Carter fixed him with a critical glare.

"No, I don't," he said firmly. "They learned from that mistake. It was just a fling; they both said that. Besides, Robin and Marian are back together, and Morgan is with Stupid Smarmy Git." Carter wrinkled his nose at the last statement. It was no secret that he hated Troy, ever since they'd been introduced. Troy seemed oblivious, but they suspected that Troy was oblivious to most things.

"I was just saying," Much mumbled, though he felt slightly foolish. "Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that they're not back yet. I mean, surely, those two wouldn't spend three hours studying."

"You could call them," Carter suggested, wandering into the kitchen.

"Hey, I could call them," Much nodded in agreement.

---

"Does Will know?" Morgan asked, folding his clothes and neatly packing them into his suitcase, seeing as he hadn't thought to pack them himself. Allan was far more concerned with making sure he had gotten his instruments and sheet music together.

"Not yet," he muttered, running his hand over the neck of his guitar before snapping the case shut. "I figured that I should calm down before I tell him that we're being chucked onto the street."

"You're not going to live on the street," Robin muttered, walking into the room. Allan looked up from his guitar case.

"You talked him out of it?" he asked hopefully. Robin cringed.

"No. I think I actually made him mad," he admitted, scratching at the back of his ear.

"Imagine that," Morgan smiled wryly.

---

"There's got to be something unlawful about this whole deal," Robin almost accused as Morgan headed up to Allan and Will's flat. The balding man chuckled and shook his head.

"Amusing. I assure you, there is nothing illegal about this eviction. I represent John Prince, and his company has bought this building from Mr Fitzwalter. I have the paperwork, if you'd like to see it," he offered in a mockingly polite tone.

"What exactly do you plan to do with a building that has no tenants?" Robin inquired, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Locksley, you said your name was?" Vaysey asked, though he didn't really care. "Tell me, boy. What do you know about the world of business? Apparently, not enough to know that they aren't charities."

"Well, I've been studying business for three years. I'd like to think that I know enough to know that there is something wrong with this," Robin retorted, his confidence swelling when the slick grin fell from Vaysey's face, replaced by a distinctive look of agitation.

"Well, unless you want to hire a lawyer, I suggest you move along, Locksley," he ground out unpleasantly.

"I'll think about it," Robin returned, bowing with unnecessary flourish before picking his way after Morgan.

---

"Not being funny, but what made you think that was a good idea?" Allan asked, stuffing his notebooks into his backpack. "You're a good person, Robin, but that doesn't mean you can change the way the world works."

"Well, I haven't tried yet," Robin responded. "Where do you plan to go, Allan?"

"I don't know. All the Uni halls are full, and anything affordable will have been taken ages ago. Will might know somewhere," he muttered distractedly, turning away from his pack, oblivious to the notebook that tipped out while his back was turned.

Robin bent down, picking up the notebook, inspecting the pictures splashed across the front. The center picture was a Polaroid of Allan and Morgan pulling silly faces at the camera. Robin tried not to notice the small cluster of hearts that had been absently doodled around the picture. He shook his head. How much more obvious could they be? He chuckled to himself, realizing that it had taken forever for him and Marian to finally get together. He handed the notebook over to Allan, who shoved it into his pack without a second glance.

"Right. Once you get everything squared away, meet me at the library," Robin said authoritatively. "Morgan, can you call Much and Carter and ask them to meet us there?"

"Yeah, but can I ask a question?" Morgan asked, not waiting for permission. "Why?"

"Because we've got a lot of work to do," Robin stated matter-of-factly, heading out the door.

---

As it happened, Morgan tried to call Much as Much tried to call Robin, just as Robin called Marian to tell her that he was on his way back to the library. While Robin had a conversation with his girlfriend, Much received a voicemail from Morgan, telling him where they had gone and that they were supposed to meet at the library. At the same time, Robin received a voicemail from Much demanding to know where they had gone and telling him that he and Carter were coming to the library straight away.

Robin remained unaware, ignoring the voicemail alert on his phone as he tried to convince Marian that he wasn't joking.

"Marian, why would I joke about something like this?" he asked, hurt by the accusation.

"Sorry, Robin," Marian apologized. "It's just… not something that I expected to be told on the phone. Why didn't my father tell me anything?"

"I don't think he knew what was going on," Robin said honestly. "Don't worry. I'm on my way back to the library. The gang's on the way. We're gonna sort this out."

"How?" Marian asked. Though she couldn't see it, Robin shrugged.

"Don't worry, I have a plan," he reassured.

"Alright," Marian conceded. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

---

Marian leaned back in her chair, sighing as she calmed herself down. Robin didn't have a plan, at least not in the conventional definition of the word. Usually, having a plan meant that you were sure of what course of action you were going to take in some detail. Robin's "plans" were usually vague ideas. Still, it was more than Marian's jumbled brain could come up with at the moment.

"Marian, are you alright?" Guy asked, pausing as he walked by the main desk, shouldering his messenger bag. "Do you need someone to walk you home?" Marian smiled despite herself and shook her head.

"I just found out, over the phone, no less, that my apartment building is being shut down," she said, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Is there anything that I can do?" Guy asked.

"Well, Robin's bringing the gang over. He has a plan," Marian shrugged. "If you could watch the desk while I tell Djaq, that would be fantastic." Guy nodded, allowing his messenger to slip to the floor with a dull thud. Marian stood and scanned the tables, knowing that she'd seen Djaq walk in not too long ago.

---

"So, why did you choose chemistry?" Will asked, remembering the one piece of advice that Allan had hammered into his brain. Do not, under any circumstances, let air into the conversation. Djaq looked up from her writing with a grin.

"Because I love it," she answered simply. "Science has always been interesting to me. I don't want to just know something works. I want to know why it works. And you? Why mechanical engineering?"

"I'm more interested in the how," Will explained. "I love creating things, you know? I love to look at a machine and know that I can take it apart and put it back together." He realized that the statement might've sounded a bit boastful, so he quickly tacked on, "Not that I'm saying I know it all."

"Of course not. If you did, life wouldn't be much fun," Djaq pointed out sagely, and in that instant Will decided that she was the smartest, prettiest girl that he'd ever met. Not that he hadn't already come to this conclusion.

"Djaq?" the quiet whisper had come from behind Will, and he turned his head to see Marian standing near the table. Will didn't really know Marian. He knew that she'd been at Robin Locksley's house every time Will had tagged along with Allan, and he knew that she and Djaq were flat-mates. They'd never really talked, though, which became painfully clear as Marian tried to address him.

"Hey, Bill. Sorry to interrupt, but you'll probably want to hear this, too," Marian seemed bewildered, and it didn't help when Djaq broke up in giggles.

"What? What's so funny?" Marian demanded.

"Nothing, unless you consider that his name is Will," Djaq muttered, apparently amused. Marian's already flushed complexion reddened, and she snuck a glance at Will, who had returned to his lab report, a minute smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized quickly, to which Will merely nodded.

"That's alright," he accepted. Djaq looked between her two friends, noticing the way that Marian was wringing her hands

"Marian, is something wrong?" she asked carefully.

"I just got a call from Robin. He's just heard that Sherwood Heights has a new landlord," she began, being decidedly more tactful than her boyfriend had been. "And it seems that this new landlord is not as forgiving as my father about lease violations." For a moment, her words seemed to go right over Djaq and Will's heads. Then, the light of realization hit them. Will simply stopped writing, looking especially contemplative as he crossed his arms over his chest. Djaq stared, slightly slack-jawed.

"We're being evicted?" she asked. Marian nodded. "Where are we going to go?"

"827 Waverly Lane," Robin said confidently as he appeared from around a bookshelf. "You can move in tonight if you want."

"Who's moving in?" This question came from Much, who came around from the other direction, followed closely by Carter. Much managed to look curious, anxious, and irritated all at the same time, sharply contrasting Carter's calm demeanor. Will looked around, wondering if he was the only one who noticed how loud their new group was being, knowing that it would only get louder when…

"The gang's all here!" Allan announced cheerily as he and Morgan walked through the doors.

"What's going on?" Guy asked curiously.

"Emergency meeting," Morgan guessed as she walked past.

"827 Waverly Lane is where you live," Marian said, getting the conversation back on track.

"Yes," Robin agreed. "And you are welcome to live there, too. It'll be a tight fit, but we have enough room."

"We've only got four bedrooms," Much pointed out.

"You can move into my room. Will and Allan can take your room. Marian and Djaq can move into Morgan's room," Robin shrugged.

"Wouldn't that be an inconvenience?" Djaq asked.

"Not really," Carter muttered casually. "I imagine that getting a hot shower will be a right pain in the neck, but that's nothing we can't handle." Carter didn't know it, but this statement would soon prove to be painfully incorrect.

---

If anyone can guess why Carter's statement is wrong, the significance of Vaysey's first name, or the drama between Marian and Morgan, I'll give you internet cookies.

Anyway, here's chapter three! Big thanks to Kates Master for proofing and helping me work out the housing.

This will probably be the last chapter of this story for the time being. I'm trying to finish The Grand Illusion and It's a Matter of Resolve. After that, I'll come back to this story, for which I've already planned a sequel.

At any rate, I hope you enjoy! Please review!