"I'm sorry I kept you so late," Finny apologized with large eyes. He was a cheerful, polite freshman. And though Claude wasn't supposed to have favorites, he enjoyed tutoring Finny the most. He had a genuine personality, and thankfully, quickly caught on to things that Claude explained. Tonight had been a difficult night for Finny, as Calculus wasn't really his thing. Come to think of it, Calculus wasn't really Claude's strong suit either.

"Don't worry about it," Claude said, pushing his chair back under the library table. "It's partly my fault anyway. I forgot how much I suck at Calculus."

"Well, you pretty much saved me," Finny laughed, as he shouldered his bag. "I was really freaking out about my Calc final. How did your finals go, by the way?" he asked, as the two of them left the library.

"Good, I guess," Claude shrugged. "I can never be too sure."

"I'm sure you did just fine," Finny reassured him. "You're only the smartest person I know."

"Thanks," Claude laughed. "But smart people can get horrible grades, too. I've had my fair share." Finny scoffed.

"What was your worst grade? A B minus?" He asked.

"A D plus, actually," Claude corrected with a grin. "In middle school."

"Oh, middle school doesn't count!" Finny cried. "Nobody cares about middle school grades in the first place."

"Regrettably, you do have a point," Claude laughed. "Good luck on your final tomorrow!" he called to Finny as he walked toward the school parking lot. As he approached his car- one of the few in the commuter parking lot at this hour- he recognized all too well the small figure sprawled out on the hood.

"What's up, Alois?" he asked, stopping in front of Alois. "Luka kick you out of the hotel for some peace and-"

Alois sat up and pulled Claude into a deep kiss. Claude was so shocked, he wasn't really sure how to react. His brain was screaming at him to pull away, yet at the same time it couldn't quite register what was happening to him. Alois pulled away with a smile.

"I've been patient, but damn," he said, grinning.

"Uh," Claude said, completely and thoroughly confused, "What?"

"I just never really thought you were considering us being a thing again. Hell, I wasn't even sure if I was considering it. But, I will proudly say, I'm proud of your vague decision," Alois crossed his arms with a satisfied expression written all across his face. Claude sucked in a large breath and let it out slowly.

"Alois," he said after a pause. "What in the hell are you talking about?" Alois' satisfied expression faltered.

"You sent me a text," he said, slowly. "Like ten minutes ago. It said some vague crap about how much you missed me and maybe coming over to the hotel…?"

"I couldn't have sent you a text ten minutes ago," Claude said, trying to keep a level head. "I was tutoring. I always leave my phone at the apartment when I tutor."

"I swear to God you texted me," he said, pulling his own phone out of his pocket. Claude sighed. There was a simple explanation for the situation.

"I didn't text you," Claude sighed. "Sebastian did. From my phone. He wanted you to think it was me."

"Oh," Alois said softly. "I'm really sorry for all of that just now. I just thought- Can we pretend it didn't happen?" he asked.

"I'm a fan of that scenario," Claude said, laughing a little. "Let me take you home," he offered. "I'm really sorry you came all the way out here for nothing," Claude apologized awkwardly. "I swear I'll make it up to you, I just have a problem at home that I need to fix."

"Nah, I get it," Alois shrugged. "It's cool." The car fell into an awkward silence. Thankfully, the hotel that Alois and Luka were staying at wasn't too far from the college. Claude bid goodnight to Alois and sped for home.

He supposed he should be flattered that Sebastian was trying to hook him up, or look out for him, or whatever. But more than anything, the whole thing just pissed him off. It wasn't as though Sebastian didn't know that Claude wasn't really sure about starting a relationship with Alois again. Yeah, he didn't know that Claude was interested in him, but that didn't mean he got to walk around and play matchmaker.

Claude walked quickly up the stairs to his apartment and threw open the door, ready to give Sebastian all sorts of hell. But, of course, he wasn't really prepared for what awaited.

"Sebastian-" Claude had opened his mouth to yell, but his brain had finally processed what his eyes were seeing. Ciel and Sebastian were tangled up in each other on the couch. Ciel and Sebastian. Ciel. And Sebastian. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" he thundered when he found his voice once more. "Forgive me. I can see that you're clearly very busy, so I'll just go about my business! Don't mind me!"

Both Ciel and Sebastian looked surprised, and slightly uncomfortable, but remained staring at Claude with almost identical deer- in- the- headlights expressions. As Claude walked off to his room, he saw Ciel jump off the couch and pull a shirt on, quickly ducking out the front door.

Claude was frantically throwing his belongings into a bag. He couldn't be around Sebastian for the time being. And he definitely couldn't remain in the apartment for more than a few more minutes. Sebastian had quickly shuffled in the room –still shirtless.

"Claude, I-" he sputtered. "That's not- I didn't-" Claude stopped packing for a moment, giving Sebastian a fiery look.

"I know exactly what that was, Sebastian," he said through gritted teeth. "It was just another one of your damn conquests. You used to have the decency to keep those out of the apartment. And, you know, suddenly it makes sense why you sent that text to Alois." Furiously, he broke eye contact and resumed throwing things into his bag. "You know, if you had really wanted me out of the apartment for the night, you could have texted Finny and asked him to pass on the message. You knew I was tutoring him tonight. You didn't have to get Alois' hopes all out of proportion, not to mention messing with my own feelings."

"I thought you really liked him," Sebastian said, timidly. "Ciel and I were just messing around, trying to see if we could hook you guys up. And then... things just happened. I know how stuff like that in the apartment upsets you, and I'm sorry. I didn't plan on things ending up like this, really."

"Me neither," Claude said, shouldering his bag and walking past Sebastian.

"Where are you going?" Sebastian asked him. "Ciel is gone," he said, as if it mattered. Claude scoffed.

"I don't know," he said, walking for the door. "I'm just not sleeping here tonight. Maybe you'll have the decency to clean the couch while I'm gone?" Claude walked out the door, slamming it behind him. He let out a huge sigh. Things just now really couldn't have gotten any worse. He walked down the hall and out of the apartment complex, heading towards the first place he thought of.

Basically, the whole night had been one huge blow to his ego. Sebastian was so dumb sometimes that it was infuriating. He never listened to Claude, it seemed. Or, maybe he did listen in his own way. Which meant processing the words coming out of someone's mouth and then drawing his own conclusions. In this situation, it was horrible. Claude's feelings weren't the only ones on the line. And on top of that, Sebastian was actually with a guy? Ciel was younger, yes, but he was still a boy nonetheless. Since when did that happen? Sebastian had never shown interest in anyone unless they were slutty women. It made sense, though, that Sebastian would go for a guy who almost literally threw himself at Sebastian's feet. Which meant Claude was out. He had a certain level of self-respect.

Yet, as mad as he was at Sebastian, he still managed to feel mad at himself. Was it really necessary to storm around the place like a six year old? Yes. And no. He could have just done the mature thing and forgiven Sebastian and moved on. It could have been a calm, simple talk. But he was far too stubborn for that. But mostly, he hurt. All the time that he invested in Sebastian, spent with him, spent caring about him and for him, meant nothing. Sebastian always chose someone else. Mey Rin. Ciel. There was something they had that he just didn't. And he would never have the balls to actually tell Sebastian how he felt. Sebastian would never pick up on it. And even if he did, Claude doubted that it would mean much.

After several minutes of fast walking, Claude arrived at the apartment he'd been looking for. He knocked on the door, hoping that its inhabitants were still awake. After seconds of holding his breath, the door swung open.

"What's wrong?" Will asked, concern spreading across his face.

"Can I crash here?" Claude asked flatly. "Sebastian and I kinda had a falling out," he grinned sadly.

"Of course," Will said pulling the door open wider to let Claude pass through. "Things are kind of a mess, I apologize. And Grell fell behind on his rent, again, so he's here. Arnold is already asleep," he said, referring to his roommate.

"Thanks," Claude sighed. "The couch is free, right?" he asked, shuffling into Will's living room. He collapsed onto the couch without really waiting for an answer, leaving his bag on the floor. Will sat by Claude, letting silence fill the room for several minutes.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Will asked. Claude knew that Will was making a genuine effort. He didn't really like to talk about Sebastian in the first place, and was never really one for heart-to-hearts. But, he seemed sincere, and honestly wanted to help. Claude found that he was spilling all- even mentioning his dumb crush on Sebastian. Will was a friend he'd had for ages, though, it seemed that as of late, they'd neglected each other. Talking to him made everything fall into perspective. Claude missed having a friend around that was a lot like him. Will listened to Claude's entire story with patience, offering condolences and advice as he saw fit. Claude was grateful.

"Just sleep on it," Will said, standing. "You'll see things clearer in the morning. Maybe you won't be as mad as you are now and you can forgive and forget. Or, maybe you'll still be mad, but you'll at least have cooled off long enough to deal with the problem sensibly, yeah?"

"Sounds like sage advice," Claude sighed, sprawling across Will's couch.

"And just so you know," Will added, "Right before we dated, Grell fooled around too, even though he knew I liked him. And we fought about it. Now, here we are months later, still finding things to fight over. It's not the end of the world. You and Sebastian are too close to not figure something out."


A\N:So I'm desperately trying to finish most of my fics before I move. Which is officially in a week. Woot. Yet, so scary. I will officially be a college student, and it weirds me out! LoL. Not to mention my study habits are a lot more like Grell's (I WISH I studied like Claude... LoL) and YES, I have drawn a bear on a test. And yes, I did get points for it. :) Anyways. Thanks for all of your reviews and feedback and praise! You guys are seriously wonderful. And now, comes the big question: to lemon, or not to lemon? (Just a warning: I've never written a lemon... so it may be more like an orange...?) Anyways. Just let me know. This is all up to you guys :)