END OF WEEK ONE

Toris was surprised, impressed, and shocked at Alfred's commitment to his regime. He spent all of his time reading, and much to Toris's discomfort, all of his time in rare silence. He was a surprisingly fast reader, even with Old English, though Toris was quite worried about whether or not he could understand what he was reading. He didn't want his friend to make a fool of himself, but Alfred marched to the beat of his own drum. He always did what he wanted so there was no point in nagging him and Toris knew that by now, despite only having been roommates for a couple months.

Toris had no idea what was going on in Al's head; ever since he started reading, he was in constant silence. He went to class, but never was he seen doing any homework. At the dorm all he did was read for a straight week. He was there reading every night when Toris went to bed and every morning when Toris woke up. Of course he must've slept at some point, but his roommate didn't seem to require much sleep to maintain his boundless energy anyway since he always stayed up ridiculously late and attended class early the next morning. All he did besides read was go to class (one to two classes per weekday), work out (one hour a day), sleep (occasionally), go to football practice, shower, and eat (while reading). He must've been wildly fast because to Toris's surprise he was always reading a different book, steadily crossing them off of his list.

Sunday – Romeo and Juliet, A Little Princess

Monday – Twelfth Night, Brave New World

Tuesday – Hamlet, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Wednesday – Macbeth, Life of Pi

Thursday – A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sense and Sensibility

Friday – Little House on the Prairie, Pride and Prejudice

Saturday – The Great Gatsby, Lolita

It was startling, the way he would get into a book. Almost as if he enjoyed it…

There was a light knock on the door. "Al?"

Alfred seemed to not notice. Toris went over and opened the door to reveal a concerned Matthew. "I haven't heard from my brother all week. Is he okay?" Toris awkwardly motioned to the man curled up in the corner with his nose in Beowulf. Startled, Matthew slowly crawled over to his brother. "Al, are you okay?"

Silence.

"He's been like this all week! Has barely said a word! I'm worried, Matt... Maybe they were too much for him?" Toris flung his hands to his head. "Oh dear god, they broke his brain!"

"Toris, calm down," Matthew insisted. He put his hand on his brother's shoulder and shook it gently. "Alfred?" Al put up a finger to indicate he was busy as his eyes quickly scanned the page at a remarkable speed. Finally he put the book down. His face was dead serious.

"Matt, just the person I wanted to see! I was gonna call you, but I got sort of… distracted," he replied nervously.

Matt's jaw dropped.

"You like it!"

Alfred attempted, and failed, to look greatly offended. "N-no I don't!" He stammered.

"Yes, you do!" Matthew grinned victoriously. "You like reading!"

"Shut up!"

"You're reading classical literature and you're enjoying it."

"Matthew Williams, you watch your mouth!" He spat, red-faced, clutching the book to his chest like he was protecting a human baby.

"Whatever you say." Matthew grinned, while his brother pouted like an angry child. "So, you were gonna call me? What do you need now?"

"Ahem," Alfred cleared his throat, eager to change the subject. "I gotta stay in the game, see? Can't win him over without constant effort. But, see, I'm really busy right now and I'm not ready to see him yet."

"Oh? Why not?" Matthew queried.

"Because," Alfred spat like a spoiled child, "I have not yet completed my transformation to his perfect man! He can't get a sneak peek! That's like knowing what your presents are before Christmas!"

"You always peeked at your presents."

"Exactly! It made Christmas somewhat less exciting."

Matthew couldn't argue with that. He was too stunned at his brother using sound logic to argue anyway.

"So?"

"So I was hoping you could… y'know… scope things out for me. Check up on him."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "You want me to stalk the guy you're trying to pick up."

Alfred clenched his hands together and looked to his brother with teary, pleading eyes. "Please?"

"I'm not stalking anybody."

"You don't have to stalk him," Alfred insisted. "Just go to the library and start chatting it up with him or something. Maybe even get some info for me."

"Why should I do this?" Matthew sighed.

Alfred pouted. "Because I'm your bro and you love me to pieces?"

Matthew scowled. "No."

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Matt sighed in frustration as he walked through the library entrance. "Geez, I can't believe this. I spoil him too much. No wonder he turned out to be such a brat." He quickly spotted Ivan and began to panic. "Uh oh… I don't have a plan or anything! What do I do?" He stood like a deer in headlights until Ivan turned and saw the look on his face.

"Hello, can I help you with anything? You look a little stressed. Big assignment?"

"Erm, no. Just killing some time. I'm just a bit shy, so, uh, I don't do that great in public places," he mumbled. It was really all he could think of and was probably convincing since he was slightly on the shy side.

Ivan smiled. "Here, come with me." He lightly guided Matthew by the arm to the third floor. They weaved through bookcases to a lone back corner where there was a large window and a small, secluded place with a couple of comfy chairs. "Is this better?"

"Huh. He's actually kind of considerate," Matthew thought. "Um, thanks. I really appreciate it," he replied.

"No problem," Ivan said, smiling kindly as he turned to walk away. Matthew awkwardly grabbed his arm.

"Would you like to join me?"

Ivan blinked, surprised.

"Um, I mean, you wanna take a break? Chat for a little bit, maybe? You seem nice and all…"

Ivan sighed, sounding slightly annoyed. "No thank you. I have work to do." He started down the aisle, and Matthew took off after him.

"Wait! Can I join you?"

Ivan gave him a funny look while Matthew got flustered. "Wow, this is really awkward," he thought. "I totally sound like I'm hitting on him."

"You look familiar." Ivan furrowed his brow.

"Well, I do come here sometimes..." Matt cleared his throat awkwardly.

Ivan looked as though he had suddenly come to a realization, then sighed. "Your brother put you up to this, correct?"

Matthew let out a huge sigh of exasperation. "Yes. I'm really sorry; he just wanted me to check up on you. Hey, wait, did he mention me?"

"No, but you were with him when we first met. I recall the two of you making a large scene at the library entrance."

Matthew's face boiled crimson with embarrassment. "Oh, god. I'm so sorry about that."

Ivan sighed softly then smiled. "It's okay. He sounds like a handful."

"Oh, he is," Matthew huffed. "He's so annoying. He always acts like a child. I feel like a babysitter." Ivan laughed sweetly.

"I thought he had given up. I haven't seen him in a while. He hasn't been stalking me, right?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh no. He's determined to do some 'self-improvement' before he tries to hit on you again, considering what a blow that was to his ego. He's super serious about it; he's got a training regime and everything. It's so ridiculous." Matthew rolled his eyes.

"I see." Ivan chuckled. "Well, good luck to him. I understand, though. While I do love my younger sister, she is a handful as well."

"Really? I mean, I love my brother too, but yeah. She can't be worse than Alfred, though."

Ivan laughed nervously. "She's a lovely girl, but she gets far too worked up over things she's passionate about."

"Sounds like Alfred. Except, y'know, the girl part. I mean, this one time, we were—" Ivan gently put a finger to Matthew's lips.

"While I would love to chat, I do have a job to do," Ivan stated calmly.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'll leave," Matt replied awkwardly. Ivan smiled.

"I get off in half an hour if you still have time to kill," he offered, to which Matt smiled.

X

"You went out to dinner with him?!" Alfred shouted in utter disbelief. "I told you to scope him out, not steal him from me! You home wrecker!" He roared, and Gil held him back as he struggled and swung his fists about. Matthew rolled his eyes.

"We didn't go on a restaurant date, chill. We went to a casual café and talked. Like, as friends. He's a pretty down-to-earth guy."

"Really?" Alfred seemed to calm down, curiousity winning over. "What did you guys talk about?"

"Oh, I just told him funny stories about dumb stuff you've done." Matthew shrugged.

"Maaatt!" Alfred whined. "You weren't supposed to tell him embarrassing stuff! You were just supposed to get information!"

Matthew shrugged. "Oh well. At least he knows you a bit better now."

"Hey, I guess that's right." Alfred beamed suddenly. "The more he hears about me, the more I'll be on his mind! Like planting the seed of thought! It's perfect!" He grinned. "So, now that you guys are friends, you'll put in a good word for me, right?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Ivan's personal choices are not for me to decide," he replied. His phone beeped. He pulled it out and chuckled to himself before starting to put it away. Alfred frowned suspiciously.

"Who was that?"

"Nobody," Matthew replied flatly.

"What do you mean, 'nobody'? Someone obviously just texted you," he spat. He gasped slowly. "You have his number. You have his number, don't you?" He leapt up.

"It's none of your business!" Matthew spat back. Alfred dove at him.

"Gimme!" He wailed, grabbing at the phone as Matthew held it as far away as possible in his hand while Gilbert tried to pull them apart.

"No way, man! Ivan would be so mad!"

"You're on a first name basis with my sweet honey?" Alfred's jaw dropped. "Giilll! My sweet, sweet matryoshka doll loves Mattie more than me!" He wailed, throwing himself into Gilbert's arms as his friend patted his head comfortingly. Matthew huffed in annoyance.

"Wow. And I wonder why he's not interested," he replied sarcastically.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave me a review on your thoughts from this chapter!

And thanks again to Anon990 for editing!