Got a really weird soundtrack here for this story... Ani Difranco, Avenue Q, Linkin Park, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Digimon... The list goes on. And this is only the third chapter. Yowza.

Not much else to say about this except that the action is starting up soon, these are mostly fillers and setting up the scene, really. The good stuff comes when... well... You'll see.

Enjoy!


Bounce

Summary: Part of being a teenager is having to put up with the masks that people wear, but no one was prepared for the mask one student wore. And even more so for the real person underneath. Roommates, parties, sports rivalries and term papers.

Disclaimer: Beyblade and all associated characters and themes are copyright to Aoki Takao. Riley Kurosawa (formerly known as Riley Taylor) and this story are copyright to me.


3. Move-in Chaos

It is a well known phenomenon that moving into a dorm hall, especially for the first time, is a complete disaster. Parents, brothers, sisters, boyfriends and girlfriends all help the unfortunate student move all of their belongings from the car – which more often than not takes more than one trip from home and back – to the small room they will be inhabiting for nine or ten months. In the humidity of late August, tensions were running high and younger siblings especially were sent back to the car to keep watch and make sure nothing was stolen. Not that anyone could even think of stealing with all the chaos going on, but the irritation of little feet amidst everything else was too much for most people.

This probably explained the small circles of younger children ranging from ages eight to twelve around the cars introducing themselves and comparing to see who had the better gameboy or the most games. The arguments seemed silly, and the feeling of superiority because they had siblings going to this college was exuded from every one of them.

The true policy of no child left behind.

Rei Kon battled with several heavy boxes on the staircase leading up to his room on the third floor of George Hall. His mother had not been able to make it due to a bad case of allergies that made it hard for her to see through the watery eyes, much less navigate the crowded halls of a university's dorms. His father had just gone back down the steps to retrieve the last of the boxes, which meant that Rei could start unpacking.

Mystel Dakarai had already moved everything in but he had waited for Rei to finish before they started figuring out what would go where. They had already had a mutual agreement that stated that the desks would be facing away from one another between the windows, but the rest was up in the air for now. With the time he had, Mystel had pushed the two desks into their position and left the bunk bed where it had been left. It was hard to move now since it was a station for boxes at the moment, anyway.

Although Mystel hadn't appeared to be nervous about meeting Rei's father, he had confessed before the moving day that he was always anxious about that sort of thing. His peers he could handle, parents, he could not.

On more than one occasion, Rei had reminded him it was the girls he had to worry about, but Mystel would just laugh it off.

When Rei finally managed to make it into the room again, Mystel had opened both windows as wide as he could and positioned his fan on one of the desks, turning it on full blast although the effect was lost because he was sitting right in front of it. The image of Mystel, blond hair sticking to his neck and long braid moving gently with the wind, eyes closed and mouth curved into a light smile, reminded Rei of a dog sticking its head out the car window.

"Aren't you supposed to be used to the heat being Egyptian?" Rei teased, pushing Mystel over so that the breeze hit the rest of the room.

"No," Mystel said, settling himself on a computer chair directly in front of the fan instead. "The humidity here is far worse than the hottest day in Cairo."

"Is it really?" Rei's father asked conversationally, earning a laugh from both boys. "Rei, I think I'll be heading back home unless you want help unpacking…"

"No, I think we're good. Thanks, dad." Rei stood and despite the heat, enveloped his father in a hug. "I appreciate it."

"All right, all right, quit it, I'm feeling too old being here anyway," he quipped, ruffling his son's hair. "We're not too far away, so if you ever need anything, just call. You too, Mystel. Feel free to bug Rei if you need anything."

"I'll try to remember that, sir," Mystel replied dutifully.

Rei, a bit embarrassed with his father's uncharacteristic show of affection, pushed him toward the door and rolled his eyes at Mystel, making the blond laugh out loud.

Even as years went on, fathers were still very, very strange creatures indeed.


Kai Hiwatari dropped the remainder of his belongings into a heap on the floor of his room and watched as his father took a seat on the bed, idly turning the fan so it faced him. Being Kai's fan, he didn't have any qualms about moving it, although there was another in the room that had been on ever since they had arrived.

As Riley had told him, his roommate's things had been shoved to one side. Some things, like a laptop and mini fridge, had been set up, but aside from that, they had been dumped just as unceremoniously as Kai's things had been. There was, however, no sign of said roommate.

"He said he wouldn't be here?" Nicolai asked doubtfully, having expected to meet the boy before he left.

"Said his stuff would be here but he didn't mention actually being here with it," Kai admitted. At least his roommate had had the good sense to open both windows in the room wide and prop his fan on one of the sills, blowing cooler air into the stifling room.

"Well, while we're waiting, need help unpacking or are you planning on doing it all yourself?" Nicolai asked, although he no doubt already knew the answer.

Kai shook his head. "I'll do it."

An awkward silence spread between them and Kai unconsciously shifted his weight onto another foot, beads of sweat slowly trickling down his spine. Nicolai, without anything to do, stood up and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Take care, I'll be at home."

Kai allowed him a slight smile in response. "Thanks." He gripped his father's hand for a moment before letting go and then Nicolai was making his way out the door.

Not even a minute later, Tala Volkov skidded inside, wearing only a pair of khaki shorts but still glistening with sweat. "Bets are on, Blue. Come on!"

"Who's working up first?" Kai pulled his tank top up over his head and dropped it onto the floor, not caring where it landed. Sneakers kicked off and socks abandoned, he followed after his best friend at a lope.

"McGregor, but 'Rique's getting pretty pissed too," Tala reported, voice just carrying over his shoulder as he vaulted over the stair landing and jumped down to the first floor. "We got a crowd," he added in amusement when Kai stopped nearby, silver brow lifted as the entire hall seemed to be listening to the argument between the redhead and blond.

"Who's the RA?" Kai wondered as he saw Enrique flicking off his roommate after a particularly scathing remark.

"Dunno, some foreign dude. Tiny though." Tala frowned, cerulean eyes searching until he found who he was looking for. "Ha! There we go. There at the end of the hall, black hair, wearing a campus shirt."

It only took a moment to see who Tala was talking about and Kai snorted. "This could get ugly."

Tala cast him a look out of the corner of his eye, mouth curved into a slight smile. "Damage control?"

"As always," Kai sighed, although the upturned corner of his mouth betrayed his amusement.

"You said you were bringing the TV!" Enrique yelled.

"I did not! You already had one in your room, so why should I go out and buy one?" Johnny retorted.

"Because you said you would, jackass."

"I'm a what?"

"Are you deaf? I said you were a jackass!"

"Listen, you fag-"

Kai and Tala exchanged looks and the bluenette tilted his head toward the argument. Tala grinned. "I'm not taking McGregor, he fights dirty."

"Sissy." Kai pushed his way through the crowd and arrived just in time to catch Johnny's fist in his hand. Tala, having the easier job of restraining Enrique (although the blond was livid with being called a fag) watched as Kai forced Johnny's arms behind his back and held them pressed against the redhead's back. Teeth clenched, Kai adjusted his grip on Johnny's arms, made slippery with sweat.

"Glad to see you two have friends that'll knock some sense in you if you need it," a voice grumbled from the crowd. All attention turned to see the RA push through to stand before the combatants and issue a rather frightening glare at them both. "First hour and you two start fighting. Pathetic."

Kai and Tala looked at one another in surprise and Tala bit his lip to keep from laughing. Apparently this RA had more fire than they had thought.

"What?" Johnny demanded, straining against Kai's arms to get to the new person. "I'm not pathetic-"

"Shut your trap, yes you are." The RA shook his head and ignored the fuming Johnny, turning to Enrique, who seemed to have cooled down already. "Why didn't you two talk to Residential Life if you knew you wouldn't get along?"

Their expressions told all.

"Great." The RA threw his arms up in disgust. "I suggest you keep your things in boxes, there's no way in hell I'm dealing with this every single day."

Two hours later found both Kai and Tala back on the second floor, sprawled out on the cool tiles with both fans turned towards them, piles of money between them. Kai neatly stacked the bills he had acquired and flipped through to make sure it was the right amount.

"I still think you cheated," Tala grumbled, glaring at his best friend as he finished tallying the numbers and pocketed the bills that had turned out to be his in the end. His pile was far smaller than Kai's.

Kai rolled his eyes and put the money in his pocket. "Just because I suggested the RA didn't mean I actually thought that was the winning bet."

"You still cheated."

"What are you, two?"

"I'd pummel you right now if it weren't so hot."

Kai ignored him.

"Ugh, I hate boarding on carpet."

Both teens turned their heads to see a young Japanese boy standing in the doorway. Small, lithe frame swathed in baggy khaki shorts and a gray tank top, feet bare, black sweat bands on each wrist, he didn't look any older than sixteen, tops. Without a word to the two boys already in the room, he kicked his skateboard to the opposite side of the room and whisked off his black beanie, revealing a mass of silver hair tipped black and ears with more piercings than could be counted, only now a tangle of cuffs, chains, and studs. Amethyst eyes framed with long, dark lashes finally turned to look at the bluenette and redhead on the floor, a light brow arching. "What?"

"You're Kurosawa."

Riley Kurosawa turned his full attention to Kai and tilted his head, smirking. "Told ya you'd know me when you saw me."

"I thought you said he was Japanese," Tala said to Kai, although he was looking at Riley.

"I'm one of those rare breeds that can speak English rather fluently. I still fuck up sometimes though," he admitted. "So. Who're you?"

"Tala Volkov, I'm on the other side." Tala jerked his thumb in the vague direction of his room and then settled back to lean back on his hands.

"Constant visitors. Good to know." Despite his words, Riley didn't seem to be too bothered by this. He maneuvered between the two larger boys and opened the door to the mini fridge. "What I wouldn't give for a good bottle of the bubbly," he muttered, grabbing three cokes instead. Keeping one in the crook of his arm, he tossed one first to his roommate and then to the redheaded guest. "So you know the blond and redhead on the first floor?"

"McGregor and Rodriguez?" Tala asked before taking a long drink from the can.

Riley shrugged. "Sure."

"What about them?" Kai leaned against the bottom bunk and looked at his roommate as he settled on the floor nearby, back to the fans.

"There must have been a fight 'cause the redhead had a bloody nose and looked pissed enough to kill."

Kai choked on his drink and Tala nearly dropped his. "Well damn."


Before people ask me tons of questions... Residential Life is the place you go when you have problems with where you live. Roommates, broken windows, that sort of thing. Before school, if you think you won't get along with your roommate, they're the ones you call. After school's started you talk to the RA first. Yes, the RA on the first floor of George Hall (Kai lives on the second floor) is Ozuma. I decided to make him older. Yes, Tala, Kai, Johnny, and Enrique live in the same hall, which has three floors. George Hall itself is shaped like a U, one RA per side. Kai and Riley live on the left side of the U, and Tala and Mystel are on the right, so they have to go through the middle to get to the others' rooms.

The phrase of "bottle of the bubbly" came from the movie Batman Returns 'cause I thought it was just so funny hearing the Penguin saying that... Other people have probably said it but I never really had it stick until then, so there you go.

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