Words cannot effectively describe the sheer excitement I hold for this story! I have less of an idea where I'm going with this one than I do Parallel Lines, but it's just falling into place!

On another completely random note: It's so awkward writing an almost 4,000 word chapter when my the chapter of my other fic, Parallel Lines, usually runs from 600 - 1,400 words per chapter! Oh well.

A MONTH INTO THE SEMESTER, Itachi's hard work was starting to pay off. His first weekend spent reading and completing assignments that weren't due for another two weeks had kept him ahead of the game, and relatively stress-free. He couldn't say that he was completely free of stress, as double-majoring within itself was stressful, but through long hours spent at the library – before class, between class, and long after his classes for the day were finished – he had the ability to put off assignments in favor of studying for an exam the next day, as well as the ability to call it a night if the work-load became too much.

Despite his mother's constant phone calls and text messages asking if he was adjusting alright, Itachi felt as though that the transition from high school to college was seamless. Of course this lifestyle yielded very few friends, but Itachi was fine with that. Putting up with his roommate was all the social interaction he needed, even if, at times, it wasn't wanted.

Deidara, on the other hand, was wishing that he'd worked on his assignments sooner as he found himself swamped with assignment after assignment after assignment every night. Though he was obviously struggling with his studies, the blonde managed to have enough time every now and again to work on a massive art project non-related to any of his art classes. Itachi knew this only because upon returning to their room after a long evening doing homework in the library, he'd find scraps of paper littering the floor, or a can of spray fixative sitting on his desk because Deidara's own desk was polluted with whatever art project he was working on at the moment, or Deidara, along with his desk would be covered in paint or ink of some sort, despite Itachi's warnings to keep the room tidy.

"I'll clean it up, yeah, don't worry!" He'd beam each time.

In the end, it would be weeks before Deidara would see it through. And even though it bothered Itachi, the last thing he wanted to do was be on bad terms with a guy he'd be sharing a room with for the next six months or so, even if he spent most of his time in the library.

And yet, through it all, Deidara even managed to juggle a bit of a social life, bringing random classmates into the room, and each time, it was someone from a different major visiting for a different reason. His chemistry classmates were easy to pick out; they'd arrive at their door with thick texts and binders that rivalled in size and would either sit on Deidara's bed, the floor, or borrow Itachi's chair without his permission and quickly apologize when he returned later on that evening. Then came the art minors, who were probably Deidara's closest friends. They stood out the most as they gazed in awe at Deidara's hyper-decorated side of the room and cringed at Itachi's barren half. Deidara's education classmates rarely visited the room, preferring instead to work in one of the various study lounges in each dorm, the student commons building, or in the library.

But none of these friends compared to Sasori, the "hot as hell" upperclassmen who shared one of Deidara's art classes.

"What are you so happy about?" Itachi asked him one day when he entered the room with a dreamy smile plastered across his face.

"You know," he'd say before collapsing onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling with lustful eyes, "that hot upperclassmen in my fundamentals of design class, yeah?"

"Sasori?" Itachi asked with a raised brow.

"Hm-hm…God he's so sexy, yeah." Deidara'd say and retreat into his own little world, leaving Itachi to go back to his work.

He honestly didn't care to hear the details of Deidara's love life, but Itachi knew that if Deidara wanted to share the details of each (usually brief) encounter with him, then what choice did Itachi have other than to engage in the conversation too?

But as much as Deidara talked about the guy, he didn't seem to know much about the guy.

"Is he even homosexual?" Itachi'd once asked him.

Deidara shrugged. "I dunno. I wish!" He'd laugh.

Itachi didn't understand. Why would one become infatuated with someone without knowing if they ever stood a chance of being together with them? He knew that teenage girls across the country fell for young male singers every day knowing that they didn't stand a chance, but still claimed to love them unconditionally anyways. But Deidara's case was different. "Wouldn't that be important to know?"

Deidara crinkled his nose and waved his hand to dismiss Itachi's statement. "Nah. I'll figure it out when the time is right, yeah."

I don't know if I like where this is going. He thought in response to Deidara's antics. However, his roommate's social life was not the place for him to pry, so he left it be.

One person's social life he could not let be without prying into, was that of his cousin, Shisui's.

"Dining alone today, Itachi?" Shisui asked, unceremoniously dumping his book bag next to the table.

Itachi briefly glanced up from his accounting homework to see who decided to grace him with their presence (even though he already knew who it was) and answered "Yeah."

"Bummer." He frowned before immediately perking back up again. "Hey, hold that thought while I go get something to eat, okay? Do you have time?"

Well, I was planning to do my homework in solitude, but now that you're here… "Yeah. I have time." He answered. He'd already completed the assignment a few weeks in advance and was reading over it again before class again on Wednesday morning.

"Cool. Be back in a sec!" He said and jogged in the direction of the lunch line. It felt like only seconds had passed by when he returned to the table with a lunch tray in hand. "So where's your roommate?" He asked, shoving a fistful of fries into his mouth.

Attempting to spy on Sasori in the library. "Studying in the library I believe."

Shisui nearly choked on his French fries at the admission. "Whoa, really? Wow! Even blondie's cracking down on the books!"

Not really. Itachi thought, but decided he didn't want to inform Shisui of his roommate's sexuality, which, he found out on the first day, was a bit of a touchy subject with strangers. "I guess."

"Hm. You must've influenced him." Shisui mused.

"So what about you? How're your studies going so far?" Itachi asked him.

"Oh, they're kicking me in the ass." Shisui explained nonchalantly. "But that's okay, it's only October."

"You do realize that midterms are only in a few weeks, don't you?" Itachi asked him.

Shisui smiled and placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Key words, Itachi: in a few weeks. I've still got time!"

How was it, Itachi wondered, that someone who's been in college for two years could care so little about their grades? Maybe it was easier during one's senior year, but Shisui was a junior. If anything, his top priorities should be looking for an internship or finding a part-time job or something along those lines.

"I suppose you'll be studying the day of your birthday instead of celebrating then since you have so much time?" He asked him.

Again, Shisui waved his hand dismissively as he took a bite of his apple and swallowed before answering. "Fuck no! I'll be drinking myself to oblivion!"

"But your birthday's a Monday. How are you going to—"

"Simple. I'm going to skip the next day and if anyone asks, I had the stomach flu. I hear a lot of people have been coming down with that lately." Shisui said.

Although Itachi had personally never lost anyone to drunk driving, he'd seen enough public service announcements to vow never to "drink himself into oblivion" much less drink at all. He once shared these concerns with Shisui, who, at the time, was a high school senior and told him "Ah, that's just to scare you into not drinking and driving. We're smart kids; we'll call a cab or better yet; we'll have a designated driver!"

Hearing Shisui rant and rave about the wonders of turning twenty-one and listening to his various drinking plans made Itachi's stomach knot. He wanted to think that Shisui would drink responsibly and not get behind the wheel while intoxicated, but peer pressure worked in mysterious ways, and the influence of alcohol, if consumed in great quantities worked in even more mysterious ways.

"I know what you're thinking." Shisui said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You think I'm going to drink and drive. Itachi, I've heard so many of those God damned PSA's in my lifetime to know better!" He said and smiled the same way he always had in their youth when he was allaying Itachi's fears. "So don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

And as per usual, Shisui's words were enough to sooth Itachi's conscience and bring a small smile to his face.

"But seriously though! I cannot freakin' wait until I turn twenty-one!" He continued.

And just like that, Itachi's smile disappeared, unbeknownst to Shisui.

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, Itachi had Philosophy 101, one of many Gen. Ed. courses required for graduation. On those days, he would arrive to class fifteen minutes early, way ahead of everyone else who preferred to arrive with either three minutes to spare, or five minutes late.

The professor himself was one of the latter types.

At 3 o'clock p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Itachi patiently awaited the arrival of the professor by checking his phone to see if he had received a text message from Shisui.

He'd made sure to text him the day before, cautioning him to remain aware of his surroundings and not to overdo it that night, to which he received the same phrase Shisui always told him when Itachi worried about his well-being. Don't worry about it.

Knowing that Shisui would be too hung-over to attend any of his classes the following day (that, and he told Itachi himself that he was planning to do so), Itachi waited until noon when he sobered up to text him asking if he was still alive.

It was meant to be taken as a light-hearted joke, but Itachi seriously wondered if Shisui had kept his promise to take it easy.

"Hi."

Itachi glanced in the direction of the voice addressing him to his left. It was the guy from the swim team that he and Deidara had seen recruiting members at the club fair. Itachi didn't know his name or anything about him other than the fact that he was on the swim team, periodically skipped class, surfed the internet during class, and was always late arriving to class.

Your typical jock…Itachi thought with distaste. He never understood athletic types who received full scholarships to go to college and who's only motivation to succeed academically was being able to continue playing and earning money for the school whereas people like Itachi worked hard earning scholarships writing essays and taking out student loans to afford an education to eventually find a stable, well-paying, salaried job that would support them in the future.

It was types like this swimmer who only thought in the present whereas people like Itachi thought long into the future. And that was what annoyed him the most.

"Yes?" Itachi asked with a raised brow. This deadbeat had never spoken to him in class before, so why did he feel the need to start now?

Was it to make friends, he wondered. He certainly hoped that he wasn't trying to recruit him for the swim team. If that was the case, he was in for a rude awakening.

"I realize that midterms are coming up in a few weeks…" He started slowly, averting his gaze to the floor as he spoke.

"The midterm exam for this class is next Thursday."

Immediately Kisame's head snapped as he locked eyes with Itachi. "Next Thursday?! As in, next week? Next Thursday?!"

Itachi nodded.

"Shit." He swore under his breath. "Okay, so apparently, midterms start next week." He reiterated and muttered "even though I thought they were after homecoming."

"They are after homecoming." Itachi stated matter-of-factly. "This week is homecoming."

"Really? Damn." He swore again.

Itachi was really starting to wonder when this guy would get to his point. Before the professor arrives, maybe?

"Anyways, I'm not doing so well in this class,"

And that's my problem because…?

"And this midterm'll probably be the death of me,"

Is this really going in the direction I think it is? Itachi thought with an increasing amount of dread.

"So I was wondering if you would help me study."

Itachi frowned. "So you basically want me to tutor you."

Kisame shrugged. "More or less, yeah."

Just then, their professor turned the corner and strode into class, checking the time on his wristwatch. "Sorry I'm late." He apologized, which went unheard by the class who let out a collective groan. They were hoping to leave class early had he not shown up. "Any who, let's get started with Immanuel Kant, shall we?" A statement which earned him another collective groan which he easily dismissed.

Itachi turned his attention to the front of the room, and from the corner of his eye, watched the athlete do the same.

By the time the end of the period came around, Itachi attempted to pack up his things as quickly as possible to avoid engaging in another mindless conversation again, only to be ensnared moments after their professor dismissed them.

"So will you help me?" The athlete asked him.

"I'm not a tutor." Itachi stated. "I don't even know you."

The comment took his classmate aback who nervously chuckled "Yeah you do; I've sat next to you since the first day of class!"

Itachi rolled his eyes and rose from his seat. "I don't even know your name."

The athlete moved to block his path and grabbed Itachi's hand in an awkward and forceful handshake. "Kisame Hoshigaki, at your service. So will you tutor me or not?" He asked again.

Itachi stared at the older student, briefly marveling at the man's persistence and sidestepped him to exit the classroom. "I already told you, I'm not a tutor. Have an actual tutor help you."

"But—!" Kisame attempted to argue, hot on Itachi's heels.

Itachi spun around to face him, his patience quickly dwindling. "Listen, it's free to go, and that's what they're paid to do." He said, speaking of the students paid to be tutors for their peers. Itachi had never actually been to the tutoring center himself, but he's heard people mention it before. With that said, he hoped that the man would leave him be as he set off to the library.

"Wait," Kisame said, grabbing his shoulder and spinning Itachi around to face him once more. "I can't go to the tutoring center."

"And why is that?" Itachi asked, annoyed that Kisame had the audacity to lay a hand on him like that.

Kisame froze, averting his gaze anywhere except for Itachi. Itachi shifted his leg slightly, debating whether or not hearing this guy out was worth his time or not when Kisame finally spoke. "If my teammates see me go to the tutoring center, they'll know I'm failing and tell the coach and I can't have that." He sighed.

"So why should I help you?" Itachi asked. He could think of a thousand reasons why he shouldn't have to waste his time tutoring this moron: he wasn't a tutor, nobody was paying him, he had his own studies to worry about and his own midterms to study for. Why did he have to care about something as frivolous as what Kisame's teammates thought of him?

"Because you're smart." Kisame answered.

"The philosophy tutors have already taken and passed the class. They're more than qualified to help you with this; I'm not." I have my own life to worry about.

"But I don't know them! I know you!"

So? "Again, you and I haven't talked to one another until today." Itachi retorted.

Quickly running out of convincing reasons, Kisame's shoulders slumped as he beared his heart to Itachi. "Listen, I admit it, I don't know you that well. But I do know that you're smart – smart enough to ace every test and paper the professor assigns to us." He said. Before Itachi could question how Kisame knew this, he elaborated"I know that because I glance at your grades when we get things handed back. I know you're smart and I know you could help me. And if you want money, I'll pay you, just, hear me out, I really need this, I—"

As much as Itachi liked to see people grovel at his feet and beg for his time, he put a hand up to silence the other student. "You do know that midterms are next week, right?"

"Yes."

"And you understand that I'm extremely busy this week as I have my own midterms to study for, right?"

"Right."

Then why are you…? "If I tutored you, you'd have to agree to meet with me when it's convenient for me, and I don't have time to play games, is that clear?"

"Are you saying yes?" Kisame asked him.

Itachi sighed. "I'm not responsible for whatever grade you receive on the midterm."

"Got it!"

Itachi looked him up and down once more. Was he really considering what he thought he was considering? "Fine. I'll tutor you."

"Yes! Thanks bro, you have no idea how much this means to me!" Kisame celebrated.

Itachi turned on his heal and beckoned for Kisame to follow. "Meet me in the library then?"

As quickly as it appeared, Kisame's smile faded. "Wait…right now?" Itachi nodded. "I've got swim practice tonight from five 'til nine, can we do it later?" He asked him.

"I suppose." He said and as soon as the words left his lips, he mentally kicked himself for agreeing to this plan in the first place. Why did he think that someone who showed up to class fifty percent of the time would care enough to show up at a decent time when people were still awake and motivated to study during daylight hours? And why did he think it would be easy to tutor an athlete? What with Kisame's swim practice schedule, Itachi'd be lucky if they met up more than once within the next week. He wasn't even a tutor so why was he going to such lengths?

"Awesome! Thanks a lot!" Kisame cheered and turned on his heel to walk in the opposite direction. He made it less than two feet before turning around and calling Itachi again. "Oh, by the way, I don't have your number! Might need that."

Itachi sighed and pulled out his phone and asked for Kisame's number instead. Once Kisame recited his own number, Itachi texted it with his contact information and checked his own messages for a text from Shisui.

"im alive (barely) thx" Shisui's message read.

Itachi interpreted that to mean that Shisui was simply suffering from a really bad hangover and left it be at that, making a mental note to look for him at the cafeteria the next day to verify whether or not that was the case.

"Itachi?" Kisame, asked, gaining his attention. "Is that how you pronounce it?"

Itachi nodded. "Yes."

"Okay. See you tonight at ten? Does ten sound good to you?" He asked, slipping his phone into the pocket of his track pants.

It wasn't how he planned to spend his evening, but the deal was done, and it was too late for Itachi to back out now. "Sure." He agreed half-heartedly.

"Cool. See you then, Itachi!"

Itachi raised a hand in goodbye and quickly exited the building in case one of their other classmates overheard them and tried to solicit his services.

"You're back!" Deidara merrily greeted him upon his return. "How was your day, yeah?" He asked excitedly.

Itachi suspected that Deidara wasn't excited to know about the details of Itachi's day, but more excited to share the details of his own day. Regardless, Itachi answered anyways. "It was fine, I guess."

"That's cool, yeah." Deidara replied.

Itachi noted the expectant look on Deidara's face and waited a moment before asking "How was yours?"

"Guess what? I asked Sasori to be my date for the homecoming dance this Saturday!" He beamed excitedly.

"You did?" Itachi asked as he gently set his laptop bag down by his desk. "Did he say yes?" Deidara nodded enthusiastically. "I didn't think he was homosexual…"

"All that matters is he said yes and I'm going to homecoming with the hottest guy on campus!" Deidara chirped like an adolescent teenage girl. What with his long blonde hair, he could probably pass for one too… "I'm meeting him for dinner after his fluid dynamics class tonight, yeah!"

Itachi forced a smile, despite the abrupt nature of Deidara's good news. For being a homosexual himself, Deidara never mentioned to Itachi that Sasori was homosexual and even interested in him for that matter. Something inside his head told him that something wasn't quite right, but he left it be. Who was he to ruin Deidara's good day just because his was less than stellar?

Only time would tell...

And so the plot unfolds...

A few questions before we part:

1. Am I going too fast? Chapter one took place at the end of August, Chapter two took place a few days after chapter one, chapter three took place a week after that, and this chapter takes place during the first half of the month of October. Is that too fast? I think I'm telling only the most important details of the semester so far and quickly filling in when there's a large time gap...

2. What do you think of the main cast now that they've all been introduced?

*Random tidbit: I looked up Shisui's birthday, it's actually October 19th. Quel coincidence! *what a coincidence!*

*Other random tidbit: You can check the status of my stories on my profile page. That's where I list if I'm stuck on a chapter, how many chapters I have planned out so far, and in what order I'll probably update them (if ever)!

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001

P.S The next chapter is set to center around the night of the homecoming dance~