Chapter 3: New Lifestyle
"What dorm and room is he in?" Kaelin asked, sneaking a glance at Xavier.
"Tunsten, room 3E. In fact, I believe he'll be sharing with you, Kaelin." Xavier was surprised the brothers didn't share a room.
"Well, I'll let you guys settle in and I'll take over after lunch," smirked Alasdair. He was clearly the dominant twin.
"I'll show you around," Kaelin smiled timidly. Xavier smiled as they walked side-by-side around campus.
"Is there anywhere to get a cup of coffee?" Xavier asked Kaelin. Immediately, the boy's eyes lit up.
"Yeah, there's a little stand down by the classroom building," he replied. "Actually, my brother's girlfriend works there, so she usually knocks off about thirty percent."
Xavier just grinned as he and his new friend headed down for the hot, sweet beverage. "Hey, Kaelin, who is this?" asked a pretty girl with raven-black hair. She handed a Styrofoam cup to each boy.
"This is Xavier, my new roommate," Kaelin replied. "Xavier, this is Paulina."
Just then, a golf cart of students rode by and one of them threw a box of popcorn at Kaelin's head. "Fag!" they screamed, then rode away, laughing.
"Just like senior year," Kaelin rolled his eyes. He paid for the coffee and he and Xavier headed off to class.
"Don't sweat it," smiled Paulina as Xavier and Kaelin walked away.
Calculus, even the high level he was taking, was easy for Xavier, settling into class behind Kaelin. The teacher, on the other hand, was a nightmare. The tall, rail-thin woman with silver hair in a bun sneered down at Xavier through her glasses, her lips set into a line.
"Who are you, young man?" she asked. Xavier just looked up at her. "Stand up and answer me!"
"Prince Xavier Rynne," he replied, standing with a smirk. "Ma'am," he added flippantly.
"Take your seat and turn your book to page 463. You will have to look on with Kaelin for now." Kaelin turned around and the two finally got around to the lesson.
Xavier found himself distracted by a pretty girl as she flipped raven-black hair over her shoulder and smiled at him.
With that, he completely zoned out of listening, instead observing the girl. That is, until Kaelin tapped his shoulder and said, "That's Paulina Skerry, Alasdair's girlfriend. You met her at he coffee stand this morning."
"So she's totally off-limits?" Xavier asked. Kaelin just nodded. "You like her?"
"Not her, her brother," Kaelin blushed. Xavier's cheeks turned faintly pink. "His name is Grant. He's absolutely amazing, and he's bisexual."
"Does he know you like him?" Xavier asked. Kaelin just nodded and looked down at his notes. "He rejected you?"
"I never asked him out. He just doesn't care about me at all. It's not that he dislikes me, we're just not friends or anything," Kaelin replied.
"I sincerely hope you two are discussing your worksheets, not your social lives," sneered the professor.
"Of course, Professor Ionkoff," replied Kaelin timidly and innocently. Xavier practically stuffed his fist into his mouth to stifle his laughter. "We're nearly finished."
"Good, then I'll look forward to you submitting your papers at the end of class?" Professor Ionkoff said in a mock-sweet tone.
"Maybe," Xavier spoke up. "These last few problems seem harder than we thought."
Xavier heard a shy giggle from Paulina Skerry, then Professor Ionkoff's eyes widened and her lips thinned further. "I will not tolerate sass in my class! Detention, both of you!" she hissed at Xavier and Kaelin. "You, too, Miss Skerry!"
The bell rang and the boys shuffled off to their high-honors Physics class. Alasdair and Paulina shared a desk while Kaelin and Xavier were seated together.
"You and your brother don't seem as close as most twins," Xavier commented to Kaelin.
"Alasdair hates it that we're twins. He's my brother, so I'm sure he loves me, but the whole shared-identity thing can be tiring," replied Kaelin.
Just then, Paulina caught up to them. "Hey, you're the prince, right? Xavier? The king's long-lost son?" Xavier nodded and Paulina extended a hand for him to shake. "Paulina Skerry," she smiled. "Kaelin, have you seen Alasdair anywhere? We have a date this Saturday that I'm going to have to cancel, and I'd like to speak to him in person."
"He has this lunch, but he's probably sitting with the fencing team," Kaelin replied. Xavier half-choked. "Something wrong?"
"He fences?" Xavier asked, shocked. Kaelin and Paulina exchanged a glance.
"He's the captain," replied Paulina. "Why? Do you fence?" Xavier nodded. "What weapon are you? I'm foil."
"Epee," Xavier replied. "Do you fence, Kaelin?" Kaelin just shook his head vehemently.
"Too many bruises," he said after a minute. Xavier and Paulina laughed. "Oh, quiet, coffee girl!" Kaelin whined at Paulina.
"At least I'm not attracted to my brother's girlfriend's brother!" Paulina teased Kaelin, who flushed and turned back to his food.
"Hey, guys, I'm gonna go talk to Alasdair," said Xavier as he got up and went to leave.
"Wait, I'll go with you. Kaelin, watch my stuff for me?" Paulina said in one breath. Kaelin nodded and Paulina, linking arms with Xavier, led him over to talk to Alasdair. "He's an epeeist so you should have fun fencing him."
Xavier just smirked, "Oh, I will," he laughed as they approached Alasdair. "I hear you're the captain of the fencing team," Xavier smirked, holding out a hand for Alasdair to shake.
Alasdair returned the handshake and nodded, "Indeed, I am. What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to join," Xavier replied. Immediately, the table broke into hearty laughter, and at my expense.
"You cannot simply join. You must beat the most proficient fencer in your weapon to be allowed on," Alasdair smiled. "What weapon are you?"
"Epee," Xavier replied. "I was captain in high school, and I'd be honored to fence whoever you name."
"Very well," Alasdair said, inclining his head. "Have your equipment up at the gym at five o'clock. You can warm up and stretch with the team. You will fence me after."
"See you at five," Xavier smirked, walking away. He gave Kaelin and Paulina a thumbs-up.
After lunch, Xavier and Alasdair visited each History, Art, and Literature. Then, Xavier returned to his room to prepare for fencing.
Kaelin arrived not too much after Xavier, flopping onto his bed. "You nervous?" Kaelin asked Xavier.
"Not excessively, why? I'm sure I could vomit if I focused, but I'm not losing my mind." Xavier was smirking as he turned to face his roommate.
"Here, wear this," Kaelin said, unbuckling a leather band from his wrist that was perhaps two inches wide and snapped it around Xavier's sword wrist. "For good luck," he smiled.
"Did you see Grant?" Xavier asked Kaelin, ruffling the boy's hair. Kaelin just dodged the hand and blushed. "Oh, somebody's got a story!" he taunted teasingly.
"He asked me out," Kaelin replied simply, turning to face the wall. "That's all," he added a moment later.
Xavier rolled his eyes. "That is so not all! What else? Did he kiss you?" Kaelin nodded as he turned to face Xavier. His cheeks were brilliantly aflame; he was practically glowing. Xavier saw it was ten minutes of five. "We'll have to continue this later," he winced guiltily. Quickly, he changed into light sweatpants, a long-sleeved lightweight tee shirt, and the new fencing sneakers he'd bought himself.
"Good luck!" Kaelin called after Xavier, who had a long sword bag slung over one shoulder.
Xavier arrived in the gym right on time and began to warm up. The team stretched before donning their fencing gear. Xavier swiftly pulled on his chest guard, underarm guard, jacket, and glove, then picked up his sword and approached Alasdair, his mask under his arm.
"Are you ready?" Alasdair asked Xavier. "I didn't see you fence a warm-up bout." Xavier shrugged.
"I am ready," he said. Alasdair nodded and the two stepped onto the fencing strip.
Paulina herself refereed the bout, calling out the orders of "Ready? En guarde! Fence!" A few moments later, she stopped them with a sharp, "Halt! Touch left! Score, one, zero, ready? Fence!" Alasdair was angry, Xavier realized, probably because a newcomer had scored such an obvious touch to the chest with the point of his blade. On and on it went. Alasdair did not score one point. "Halt! Bout! Score, five, zero," Paulina said.
Alasdair whipped off his mask, threw his weapon down and ran a hand through his spiky blond hair. "You did not just beat me!" he fumed angrily at Xavier.
The coach walked over then, however. "You beat our captain?" he asked Xavier. "Is that true?" he asked Paulina. The girl simply nodded and the coach, having jerked Xavier's sword from his grip, shook his hand vehemently, glove and all. "Welcome to the team, Captain!"
"Thank you," Xavier said, "but the captaincy should not be won by one chance bout. I would far rather share the captaincy than feel I cheated someone from their rightfully-earned position."
"Paulina, don't you have anything to say about this?" Alasdair asked his girlfriend. Paulina, however, simply shook her head with a smile.
"What Xavier said makes sense," she told Alasdair. To the coach, she smiled, "I think it's a fine idea to have the boys share the captaincy."
"Very well, then, it is done," said the coach. "Alasdair and Xavier shall be co-captains."
"Congrats," Paulina mouthed at Xavier, turning back briefly as she and Alasdair walked off hand-in-hand. He looked at her and she turned back to comfort him.
Xavier stayed for the rest of practice, then trudged back to his dorm at seven. He all but fell onto his bed, exhausted, then the bell for dinner rang. He and Kaelin managed to shuffle down to the dining hall, then he flopped into a chair with his food.
"So, how was your first day?" asked Paulina as she sat on Xavier's other side.
"Fine," he shrugged. Kaelin then froze and Xavier looked at his friend. "What is it?" he asked.
"It's Grant," he whispered. "Across the caf." He gestured and Xavier saw the boy for the first time. He had flame-bright red hair that was almost blond at the ends and dark red at the roots. He almost looked like a fire demon, Xavier thought, observing the boy.
"Why don't you go talk to him?" Xavier asked. Kaelin gulped and shook his head. "Why not? He kissed you, didn't he?"
"Yeah, but he's Grant," Kaelin whined. "I can't just go talk to him!" Just then, the boy turned from the silverware container and, spotting Kaelin, waved and started walking over. Kaelin blushed and waved back. "He's coming over! What do I do?" Kaelin asked Paulina and Xavier.
"Relax!" Xavier laughed. "Come on, he's just a guy, right?" However, he fell silent then because Grant was sitting down.
"Hey, guys," he greeted them with a smile. "Paulina, want to introduce me to your friend? I know Kaelin rather well."
"Xavier Rynne," he introduced himself, shaking Grant's hand. "So, you're the famous Grant that Kaelin never shuts up about, eh?"
"He talks about me?" Grant asked, smiling at Kaelin. Xavier just rolled his eyes as Kaelin blushed.
"He never shuts up," Paulina stated. "Really, if I wanted to hear that much about my brother, I'd talk to him myself."
Grant laughed at that. "Kaelin, could you come with me for a moment?" he asked Kaelin. Xavier watched as the boy rose, blushing furiously, and turned back to his food.
Kaelin and Grant walked into the hallway that fed into the cafeteria and Xavier watched silently as they spoke. He'd taught himself to lip-read so he could better understand the movements of the body for an art class, but now he was glad he could see what the boys were saying.
"Are we still on for Friday or would you rather spend time with Xavier?" Grant asked. Xavier studied his face, taking in the repressed anger.
However, Kaelin just lay a hand on Grant's cheek and replied, "We're definitely still on. I like you, not Xavier. Besides, Xavier doesn't like boys." Grant smiled and kissed Kaelin, somewhat possessively.
Xavier decided that he didn't like Grant. The boy seemed controlling and almost harsh. Still, when Kaelin returned, he was grinning like a madman.
"You're happy," Paulina blinked at Kaelin. "Is my brother really that great of a kisser, Kaelin?" Kaelin blushed and scratched the back of his head.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" teased Xavier. Paulina smirked and Alasdair walked over to them then.
"Kaelin, we need to talk," said Alasdair, gesturing for his younger brother to follow him. "Now," he added when Kaelin did not rise. Finally, Kaelin followed his brother. "What's this I hear about you and Grant Skerry?" Kaelin blushed crimson and Alasdair rolled his eyes, "Come on, you know he's just going to hurt you like he hurts all his boyfriends and girlfriends. He's just going to seduce you and walk away."
"No," Kaelin replied. "He won't leave me. This is going to be different."
Paulina smiled, "I can find out if he has a hidden agenda if you want, Kaelin." Kaelin nodded and Paulina and Alasdair rose to leave.
"Xavier, you don't think Grant is just going to break up with me once he gets what he wants, do you?" Kaelin asked Xavier, eyes wide.
Xavier sighed and set down his fork. Looking at Kaelin, he said tiredly, "I have no idea, Kae. He seems a little rough to me, but I just don't know him well enough to say anything." Kaelin sighed and lay his head on his forearms. Xavier awkwardly patted the back of Kaelin's head and resumed eating. After dinner, Kaelin and Xavier trudged up to their room, changed, and fell asleep.
Xavier's days passed in study and sports until Christmas. Paulina, Alasdair, Kaelin, and Grant were staying over all vacation long while Xavier was staying for a few days, going home the day of Christmas Eve, sleeping over, and coming back the day after Christmas despite the fact that the break lasted until New Year's.
Alasdair had been rather cool towards Xavier since he discovered Xavier was tutoring Paulina in Calculus. The teacher also hated him still, but he was thinking of joining math team just to spite her.
As far as fencing went, Alasdair had tried several times to fence Xavier out of the co-captain spot. Each time, he had failed. Xavier particularly relished how Paulina rolled her eyes and groaned every time Alasdair complained about him. A break-up was coming soon, Xavier could sense it, and he'd finally have a chance with the beautiful girl.
Kaelin, fancying himself totally in love with Grant, was gone many nights a week, to show up the next morning before he thought Xavier was awake. However, Xavier also noticed faint bruises along Kaelin's jaw line and what looked like finger marks on his upper arms and around his wrists. He was concerned about his roommate, but Kaelin just shrugged off Xavier's concerns with a besotted smile before going into a tangent about how fantastic Grant was.