For a teenager his age, Adam knew a lot about himself. Having a zombie dragon to talk to had helped with that, even if the Spirit couldn't talk back. His close relationship with his sister helped too. The late nights they'd spent dueling on the floor had led to many personal insights. He'd learned he was a pretty good duelist, if not always predictable. He'd learned to embrace the creepiness of his favorite zombies because using them felt right. But at the moment, those weren't as important.

What was important was a discovery he'd made two years ago. He'd shared it with his sister, of course, but no one else. He didn't know who he could trust with the knowledge. So he'd hidden it, buried it beneath the macabre and the makeup. But now, on the first day of Duel Academy, as he sat in Ra Yellow's cafeteria meeting the boys in his dorm, he knew it would be a problem.

Because there was no way he could handle this many cute and hot boys so close by. It would surely be more than his dead, shriveled, gay heart could take. Of course, seeing a boy wearing full makeup with lipstick, nail polish, and a skull necklace kept most of his peers at a distance. He didn't mind. All the better to check them out when they weren't in his face.

He positioned himself in a corner, eyes raking back and forth. Most of his classmates kept their distance, which was fine. He liked having personal space. He listened in on some of them. Whenever the conversation turned to girls or dating, he'd tune them out. After the third or fourth time, he began to get annoyed. Not that he should've expected anything different. All of them were teenagers, after all.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone approaching. The other boy was slightly shorter than Adam, with spiky yellow hair. He wore his jacket open, showing a striped red and black shirt beneath. He sat down next to Adam and just…looked at him. Adam looked back.

"Cool lipstick," the other boy said.

"Thanks," Adam said. He furrowed his eyebrows. He was supposed to say something back, right? "Nice outfit. Very classy."

"You know we're all wearing a uniform, right?" the boy said.

"That's not what I…" Adam began. The boy began snickering.

"It's okay, I'm just messing with you."

"Oh. Okay. Why?" Adam asked.

The boy blinked at him. "Why what?"

"Why're you messing with me? What're you getting out of it?" Adam asked.

"You looked lonely."

Adam blinked. "Did I really…"

"Please, you're in a room with a bunch of people in it, all of them chatting. Meanwhile, you're tucked away in the corner, staring at people. So yeah. You looked lonely," the boy said. He offered a hand. "I'm Calvin, by the way. Calvin Derkins."

"Adam Hartfield," he said, shaking Tom's hand.

"Well there's a shock. Your hands aren't ice cold," Calvin said, smirking slightly.

"Alas, no. I only look like I'm dead," Adam said, sighing dramatically.

"Uh-huh. Okay," Calvin said. He settled back in his seat, watching the room with Adam. After a few moments of awkward silence, Adam sighed.

"Sorry. I'm bad at dealing with people," he said.

"You and everyone else on the planet," Calvin muttered. "What kind of deck do you use?"

Adam raised an eyebrow and looked over at him. "Sorry, can't tell you. I enjoy the look of surprise when my opponent figures it out too much."

Calvin looked over at him again, his eyes narrowed. "Is that right?"

"It is. Not knowing what you're up against is half the fun," Adam said, a small smirk on his lip. "Whoever can adapt and overcome more effectively will win. Its about strategy and improvisation, as much as it is about skill."

"Yeah, if you're playing to win," Calvin scoffed. It was Adam's turn to narrow his eyes, frowning slightly. "Listen, you got some real cool stories wrapped up in these cards and each game gets to be its own story. Like if one of the players has an 'Aliens' deck. They're clearly invading someone and your opponents monsters are trying to fight them off. Or you got Ancient Gear monsters. Giant mechanized soldiers, marching into battle to crush your enemies!"

Adam bit the inside of his lip as he thought about it. "How would you describe a zombie deck?"

"Depends on how they're being played. Swarming the field? Clearly the zombie apocalypse. One or two big monsters? Must be a necromancer's cured minions," Calvin said. He grinned at Adam. "Like I said, a lot you can do."

"So what happens if you get Zombies versus Aliens?" Adam asked, sitting forward.

"Then the Aliens just got to a dead world and were exploring it when bam, zombies. Now the Aliens have to wipe out the threat before the zombies spread."

"You're pretty good at that," Adam said. "The 'making up stories on the spot' thing."

"Thanks. I practice a lot. Mostly so I can be a good GM."

"You GM? What system?" Adam asked, perking up slightly.

"Millennium World. It's Yugi Moto's new game. I was actually in the beta testing for it. It's really good, I'm hoping to get a group for it here," Calvin said.

"I'd be interested, if you'd have me," Adam said.

"Sure! Sounds like fun. Know anyone else we could invite?"

"My sister. She's wanted to get into other types of games for awhile now, though I've never convinced her to try an RPG," Adam said.

"Your sister? She like you?"

"We have our similarities," Adam said. "Not in terms of decks or playstyles though. She wants to become a Tag Duelist with me."

"Tag Dueling's a pretty narrow field. Considering nobody wants to even try and beat the Paradox Brothers," Calvin said.

"The Paradox Brothers coast by on reputation alone at this point. Tag Dueling's never had true competitors in it. That's going to be Harriet and I," Adam said firmly.

"Sounds like a cool plan."

"What about you? What're you doing at Duel Academy?"

Calvin grinned. "What else? I'm gonna be a card designer. I've got a bunch of ideas, especially for more invaders. I'd call them…"

Adam tuned Calvin out slightly. He furrowed his eyebrows and reached out to his Duel Spirit. He felt Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon manifest in the air behind him, looking down at Calvin. Adam's frown deepened when Calvin didn't react. So, the other boy couldn't see Duel Spirits. He was just very creative.

Shame. He'd always wanted to meet another medium like his sister and himself. He dismissed the spirit and tuned back in.

"…which is why they'd all have flip-effects," the other boy was finishing.

"That all seems…doable," Adam said, trying to hide that he hadn't heard a word of what Calvin had just said.

"I definitely think so. And I had this other idea about…" The two continued on, with Calvin spewing forth card concepts for Adam to critique or compliment.

The two talked into the night, ignoring the rest of their fellow Ra Yellows in favor of discussing card design and quizzing each other on lore. It wasn't until Professor Sartyr interrupted them that they noticed how empty the room had gotten.

"Is it really that late?" Calvin asked.

"So it would seem. I enjoyed talking to you," Adam said. He offered a hand to Calvin. "We should do it again sometime."

"We're gonna be living in the same building for at least a year. We're gonna talk more," Calvin said flatly. He fist-bumped Adam's extended hand. "See you around though." He turned and walked away.

Adam began heading towards his own room. That had been nice, having someone to talk to who wasn't Harriet. Calvin was interesting. Clever, witty, if a little too lost in his own head. Not exactly bad to look at either, now that Adam was thinking about it.

No, bad Adam, that was a dangerous train of thought and he wasn't going to entertain it any longer. He could control his hormones. He'd be a good dormmate and not some pervert. Hopefully.

Adam reached his door just as his neighbor's was opening. The boy that stepped out was slightly taller than Adam, with long silvery hair pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes were a deep green and they narrowed upon seeing Adam. Not that Adam noticed. He was too distracted by what the other boy was wearing. Which was a towel. And nothing else.

"You," the other boy growled, glaring at Adam. Adam's eyes snapped up to the boy's face. "You're the one with the zombie dragon."

"…yes, I am. What of it?" Adam asked, stiffening. He did his best to lock eyes with the boy and not let his gaze wander. He didn't do a very good job.

"Great, I'm living next to a freak," the other boy muttered. Adam flinched. The other boy glared at Adam again. "Stop looking at me like that, you fa-"

Adam heard the last word but didn't register it. He refused to. He had not gotten into Duel Academy just to have that word thrown at him again. He clenched his hands into fists and glared at the other boy. "Hello. It was nice to meet you as well," he said, his voice carefully calm and flat. "Please do not call me that word."

"What? It's not like I'm wrong, am I?" the other boy snapped. Adam didn't dignify him with a response, turning and pushing his way into his new dorm room.

His dorm room. A new space, all for him. His brand new home away from home. He slid down to be seated on the floor. He pulled his knees to his chest. Leave it to that word to ruin it. To remind him that he was different. And no matter how much he tried to embrace that, to be different, it still hurt to have it thrown in his face.

"Welcome to Duel Academy, Adam," he muttered to himself. "Hope it gets better from here."

(Author's Note: So you guys know, I'm mostly writing this to get practice in writing character arcs [also because the Duels themselves are fun to write]. There's going to be romance and such later, but that may take some time. That said, I'm interested to know what you're here for. Please leave a review and let me know.)