Hello guys! First time I'm talking to you at the start of the chapter rather than the end, haha!
First of all, thank you so much for your reviews and kind words! I'm sorry that lately I haven't had time to reply to each individually, it's just been one thing after another.

I decided that while I have a brief break, I might write another chapter today.

Also, just so you guys know, I'm communicating with an editing volunteer, so a fancy new and actually correctly worded version of previous and future chapters may be in the works! Look forward to it!

Enjoy the chapter! Love you guys!

X

Still carrying Matthew (much to his embarrassment), Gilbert and Alfred marched straight across campus and through the library's front doors. They marched up the stairs to the school resources and information department and plopped Matthew down in a chair.

"Be right back!" Alfred exclaimed, then hurried quickly out the door. The two sat in silence for an awkward fifteen minutes until they heard a crash and a scream. Matthew considered getting up, but decided against it. Finally, sweating and huffing, Alfred came out of the elevator, pushing the large chalkboard from before and carrying a backpack. Matthew was dumbstruck.

"Don't try to get this thing up three flights of stairs," Alfred wheezed. "Not easy. Nearly made it all the way, though."

Matthew blinked in disbelief. "Okay. Where did you get that thing, anyways?"

"Just borrowed it from one of my teachers."

"Does this teacher know that you've 'borrowed' their chalkboard?"

"Nah."

"Then that's stealing, Alfred."

"Only if you get caught. Now, onto business!" Alfred pulled his large boombox–iPod dock out of his backpack, and Matthew facepalmed as he plugged it into the wall and blasted "Stronger" by Britney Spears at full volume.

"Oh god, this is my jam," muttered Gilbert, tapping his legs nervously, resisting the urge to jump up and dance. Matthew raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes. "What? Britney's a musical and visual goddess. She knows how to bring it to the dance floor."

"Focus!" Alfred shouted over the music. "Mattie, this is your entourage, like Rocky Balboa! This is when you work hard and get your life back on track! We have to explore options!"

The three of them spent hours scouring through course manuals, looking for things that might be appealing to Matthew who couldn't seem to make up his mind. Alfred had packed snacks and energy drinks, and well into the next morning, all three were asleep. The iPod had died, the library lights had been turned off long ago, and the three of them were forgotten off in a dusty corner, passed out on the table covered in books. Forgotten, that is, until a certain librarian found them while putting away books the next morning.

"Ahem."

No reply. He shook Alfred's shoulder. "Alfred," he snapped sternly. Alfred snored a little louder and shifted, not waking up. Ivan took in a deep breath. "Alfred!" He shouted, smacking him upside the head, startling all three into an awakened state.

"Wha?" Alfred blinked wearily and frantically, trying to make out his surroundings. Finally Ivan came into focus, his brow furrowed and lips pursed angrily. "Oh! Hey, Ivan." He stretched his arms out onto the table in a relaxed state, then grinned. "Can't complain, waking up to your face first thing in the morning, angel eyes."

Ivan became flustered, but it just made him angrier. "You won't sweet-talk your way out of this! I knew you were a good-for-nothing!"

"What? What did I do?" Alfred frowned confusedly.

"You—" Ivan looked like he might smack him again for a moment, then lowered his arm to his side and clenched his hand into a fist. He averted his eyes, a tear pricking at the corner of one, desperate to fall. Looking flustered and sad, he muttered, "Fine, then. I knew I shouldn't have... Whatever." He began to leave until a bewildered but determined Alfred grabbed his hand.

"Hey, don't throw a tantrum if you're not even going to tell me what I did."

Ivan became even more flustered, embarrassed further at Alfred acting more mature than him. "You stalk and pester me and just when I start to think you're not all bad, you ditch me without a second thought!"

"What, our date?"

"What else would I be talking about?!"

"What, did you think I would leave a date with you without a damn good reason? Did you stop and think about that?"

Ivan opened his mouth to retort, but decided against it.

"Mattie needed my help. He's flunking out."

Ivan blushed, looking ashamed. "Oh."

"What, you still immediately assume the worst of me?" Alfred questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I don't understand you! I don't even know why you're so interested. There's nothing interesting about—"

Alfred pressed a finger to Ivan's lips, grinning. "You're really new to the whole romance thing, aren't you? If you don't believe in yourself, believe in me at least, okay? And trust me, I have good taste." He gave Ivan a soft peck on the cheek and ruffled his hair gently. A bewildered Ivan went red in the face, staring off into space like he had no idea where he was.

He was smitten.

"Ahem." Ivan snapped back into reality as Gilbert waved at them. "I hate to interrupt your little moment, but Matt needs our help." Alfred laughed while Ivan's face burnt redder than a fire truck.

"R-right!" Ivan decided to completely ignore previous events and plopped down with them. "Let's get to work," he declared at a much higher pitch than normal, his voice cracking a bit with nervousness.

X

"What about computers? You can do artsy stuff with them, right?"

"I don't know!" Matthew wailed.

"But we've been through pretty much every possible major at this school!"

"Well, I don't know what to tell you!" Matthew whimpered. "I know nothing about half of this stuff! How am I supposed to know if I'll like it?"

"Why not try them all?" Ivan suggested. They all turned to him, frowning in confusion. "Take every course and see which ones you like."

"There are, like, twenty different courses I can take at the beginner's level! I couldn't do all that in one year."

"You don't have to. Do it in one semester."

They looked at Ivan in bewilderment. He sighed. "Look. The introductory classes almost never overlap in schedules because first-years often have to take multiple courses for their degree. Plus you can pull out of a course with a full refund a month in. Take all the courses. Go to one class of each. Drop out of the ones you're sure you won't want. Drop out of some more after the second class. Do this until at the end of the one month period you've only got your top courses remaining."

"How can I tell with only one class?"

"That's simple. Just pick whatever you feel most passionate about for the subject matter."

"I thought there was a limit of how many classes you can take."

"When you register online there's an automatic limit in the system, but if you register with a guidance counsellor and give them a reason, they can make exceptions."

"But even if I get a refund, I'll need to pay for the classes first, right? How will I do that?"

"Hm, I suppose I could lend you the money for the extra courses." Ivan shrugged. "Since you'll get it back anyway."

"Erm, Ivan? Do you have any concept of how much college courses cost?"

"Fifteen extra courses? Will fifteen thousand be enough?"

Their jaws dropped. "Where did you get that sort of money?!" Matthew exclaimed in bewilderment. "You're just a—"

"A librarian?" Ivan raised an eyebrow coyly. "I do this because I love books, not to mention this library is huge and only open to students and staff. I have no shortage of funds, I assure you."

"Wow," Alfred laughed. "I never knew I was a gold digger! Don't tell me you're, like, secretly a model too. Like, a super popular, super famous model? I can totally see that. You'd make a great model. Or a famous porn star? That would be aweso—gack!" Alfred exclaimed as his brother smacked him with a rolled-up magazine. He rubbed his head and pouted. "Sheesh, Mattie, what was that for?"

Matthew glared at him. "You know why!" Alfred ignored him.

"Well, now that we've solved that… What time am I picking you up tonight, gorgeous?"

Ivan blinked as everyone looked at him. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah. I still owe you a date, right? Let's hit the town!"

Ivan blinked in surprise, unintentionally lost in his daydreams. "Okay. I get off at four."

"Awesome! You want me to pick you up from work or home?"

"I'd like to get ready first, so... home, I suppose." He nervously scribbled down his address and handed it to a grinning Alfred.

"Great! Five o'clock, then. Get ready to have your world totally rocked, babe." He winked at Ivan while Matthew rolled his eyes at his brother's lameness. Ivan replied with a muffled, unintelligible noise of shyness and scuffled off awkwardly.

"Damn, he needs to get laid," Gilbert commented. Matthew gasped and smacked him. "Ow! What? He does! He's totally tense! You could use a little something-something too, to be honest—Ow! Ow, stop! Why are you hitting me, Birdy?!"

X

Haha! Subtlety is not the language of Gilbert. I don't think it's even in his vocabulary.

Well, hope you enjoyed it, though I sort of just pulled this one out of my butt due to short notice. Sorry about that. Lots more story to come though, so stick around! Comments are very much appreciated! They are the lifeblood that keeps me writing!

Thanks to Anon990 for editing!