Author's note: I've named the MC "Prince", as I believe that his father would have been a big fan of the musician by that name. This fic starts at the point where Prince first arrives at B&R, and while the story will generally follow the plot of the canon game, there will be several new plot points and divergences and an original character. With all of this said, I hope you enjoy my fanfic!
Episode 1 Part 1: Initiation Introduction
The tall, white building stood before Prince as his dad, Neil, pulled up to the front entrance, with several pairs of stairs leading to the front door. Above it displayed the logo "B&R" with the full words "Burgmeister & Royce" underneath it. Several students were walking together as a couple strolled past the entrance while holding hands. Two jocks were near the front conversing with each other, a male student with glasses and short black hair was sitting on the stairs as a female student walked past him into the building, and an older looking faculty woman stood outside, surveying the area.
"Here we are. Burgmeister & Royce," Neil announced, impressed by the display. "It sounds so fancy!"
"It's not that big of a college, dad," Prince replied, trying to downplay his excitement.
"Ah! An elitist college, then!" Neil remarked.
Throughout the car trip, Prince had been reminiscing on the previous day when he had kissed Josy in the forest, only to find out right after that she was in a relationship with someone. He knew that it was probably the right thing to cut his losses and move on from her, but a part of him couldn't help but still think about how happy he would have been if he could've taken the next step with her. She had been his longtime crush who made working at that store and putting up with Steve much more bearable, so for him to just completely let go of her like that was…
He wasn't entirely sure what it was.
Once Neil parked in front of the entrance, they got out of the car, with Neil taking out Prince's luggage full of his clothes and Prince carrying his prized guitar.
"Take care, my son!" Neil proudly smiled at his son. "Don't forget to call."
"Thanks, dad! I won't forget," Prince smiled back.
Neil threw his arms out wide. "Come, give your old man a hug."
Although Prince felt a bit embarrassed at doing this in public, he took the moment to give his dad one last embrace before he had to get back in the car and drive back. As they were hugging, one of the jocks saw this and cupped his hands around his mouth while yelling at the top of his lungs:
"HA! GAAAAAY!"
"Why don't you grab his dick while you're at it?!" the other jock hollered, loud enough for everyone walking by to hear.
The student with glasses narrowed his eyes at the jocks while Prince ignored them and headed onward to the entrance. After getting inside, he walked up to the receptionist at her desk, trying to figure out where he was supposed to be. She informed him that he was an hour late and had missed out on the first part of the campus tour.
Well, that already made things awkward.
Once he received the key to Dorm 66, he thanked the receptionist and headed down towards the east wing where his dorm was located. The maps all seemed to blend in with each other, as none of them had a "you are here" indicator. The thought of asking someone for help crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it, not wanting to make a fool of himself. After around 10 minutes of searching here and there, he finally found the door to Dorm 66. He noticed that an extra 6 was scrawled on, and he chuckled to himself at the crude joke.
He wasn't chuckling for long, though, as when he opened the door and entered the room, a guy with black hair, a pair of shorts, and a black striped tank top with white edges jolted up from his bed.
"Hey hey hey! You can't just barge in here!" the guy shouted. "Who the fuck are you?!"
Prince was initially taken aback at the guy's rude attitude, but quickly recovered. "Hi, I'm Prince. I believe I'm your dorm buddy."
"Not another one! I fucking told them yesterday…" the guy grumbled. "I don't wanna share this dorm! Find somewhere else to sleep."
"I don't think it works that way…" Prince took a deep breath before responding. "What's your name?"
"Why would I tell you that, shithead?!" the would-be roommate fired back with a scowl. "I'm not gonna live here with you."
"You don't have to yell at me. I'm sure we can get along," Prince urged, trying to calm him down.
The guy turned away and muttered to himself, "Fucking morons are running this place..."
After a moment of silence, he turned back to Prince, still scowling. "I'm Troy. If I have to share this dorm with you, here's the deal. You're allowed to sleep on that bed. But daytime, when I'm in here, you're not. Got it?!" he growled those last words out.
"I guess," was Prince's only response. He wasn't in the mood to start something with someone who for some inexplicable reason hated him at first sight.
"Good. Now drop your shit off and get out before I change my mind," Troy barked.
Prince silently placed his bag and guitar next to his bed and started to head out. Right before he exited the dorm, he turned back to Troy. "Can we start over and try to get along? I could use someone to help me find the campus tour group."
"Oh, you could?" Troy snarled before slamming the door in Prince's face.
"What a shitty start this has been…" Prince thought to himself.
The next set of hallways proved to be just as daunting for Prince to navigate through. As he turned a corner, he stepped on a flier that was lying on the ground, causing him to cry out in surprise, lose his balance, and fall on his butt.
"Dammit…" he cursed his slip-up.
He heard someone gasp in front of him before asking, "Do you need a hand?"
Prince looked up to see a girl with blonde hair, a white shirt, a plaid skirt, and concern etched across her face.
"Sure," Prince accepted her offer, holding his right hand up.
The girl took his hand and pulled him up to his feet. "That was quite a fall," she noted. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I was too busy figuring out where I was going," Prince responded.
"Ah, that must mean that you're a freshman?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm Prince, by the way," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.
"Cool. I'm Maya," she smiled and shook his hand. "So, what are you doing here? Today's orientation day!"
"Yeah, I know…" Prince sighed. "But I arrived too late and missed the tour."
Maya gave a sympathetic frown. "Well, that sucks. Shit, now I feel bad for you. How about I show you around instead?"
Prince's eyes lit up at her offer. "Would you do that?"
Maya smiled warmly. "Sure, follow me."
"I take it you're not a freshman yourself?" he asked her while walking towards the main entrance.
"Actually, I am," she clarified. "But I'm also a local, so I've been here at high school events. It's not a big campus, really."
"What are you going to study?" he inquired.
"I've applied for a social work degree," she answered.
Prince scratched his head. "Ok...I don't really know what that means."
"Hah, that's ok," Maya smiled. "Besides, I think most freshmen have the same general education classes the first year anyway."
"The selection was pretty poor…" he stated.
She shrugged. "That's small colleges for you."
Once they reached the main entrance, Prince and Maya exited through the doors, walking past several students. One of them was a black guy with an orange and black jacket with the logo B&R on the front.
"How much do you know about this place?" Maya asked him.
"I know the history of the campus, but not much else," Prince replied as they stepped down the stairs.
"Cool. So, on this campus, we have four fraternities and one sorority; the rest of the students live in co-ed dorms," Maya began. "There's the nerd fraternity, the tri-betas…"
"The nerds?"
"Yeah, I know it's kind of insensitive, but they're very smart. I think they take pride in being called nerds, too," Maya continued. "Anyway, they don't have a house. They just hang around the library most of the time. Not having a house helps a lot with their expenses, too."
Maya led Prince to an enormous mansion surrounded by a brick wall with closed gates at the front. Two students dressed in business suits were talking to each other.
"Over there, you have the rich kids' club, 'the preps', or whatever you want to call them. They go by the acronym alpha nu omega," Maya explained.
Prince nodded. "Alpha and Omega...that's clever. Is it a biblical fraternity?"
"Haha, no way," Maya chuckled. "I think it means that they put themselves first and last, with no room for others."
She pointed at a blonde-haired guy in a fancy blue suit and tie on his phone. "That guy over there is Tybalt, their fraternity president. Every year, his family donates a lot of money to B&R. It's always a big deal in the local newspapers."
They walked onward to a regular sized house displaying a banner with three alpha symbols. A basketball hoop hung from one side of the front yard with a stereo speaker on the other side. Two muscular guys were engaged in a conversation together, while two other guys were sitting on a couch leering at a Japanese girl who stood in front of them, trying to tell them something. The girl had black hair, black lips, black stockings, and was dressed in all black. Her right arm had numerous tattoo patterns adorned all over it, her shirt was ripped and low cut to the point of exposing her underboob, and she wore a skirt so short that it almost seemed like underwear at first glance.
"Then we have the jocks, the tri-alphas. A bunch of meatheads in that house. Unless you're a jock...you should probably stay away from them," said Maya.
As if to illustrate her point, when the Japanese girl turned around, one of the alphas groped the Japanese girl's butt, causing her to grimace before walking away from the house.
Retracing their steps, they arrived at a large pink house with several girls sunbathing topless on the tanning beds outside. One of them had messy scarlet hair, another had undercut silver hair, and the third was a Latina with black hair and a tattoo resembling a bird on her body.
"That's the only sorority on campus, Eta Omicron Tau, also known as HOT. The jocks and the HOTs have a long history; they usually party together," Maya explained.
The scarlet haired girl laughed at something the silver haired girl said, while the Latina looked at them with confusion on her face.
"Uh-huh. What are your thoughts on them?" Prince asked.
Maya lowered her voice. "This is just between you and me, but they seem like a bunch of sluts. That said, I'm still gonna pledge their house."
Prince gave her a puzzled look. "Huh? It sounds like you don't like them. Why would you want to pledge?"
"It's kind of unofficial, but rumor has it that the HOTs pay for your entire tuition if you fit their criteria," Maya answered.
"Oh! Can I pledge, too?" Prince joked.
"I'd like to see you try!" Maya giggled. "Jokes aside, though, I really need that money…"
"Yeah, I understand. I had to take student loans to be able to afford the tuition here. Those are going to be a pain to pay off down the line, but I'll manage it," Prince sympathized.
Maya's expression faltered. "I'm doing that, too, but it's not that simple. That money won't come so easily for me as it is."
Prince thought to ask her why that is the case, but decided not to pry, given that they had just met.
"So what about the fourth fraternity?" he changed the subject.
"Oh right! I almost forgot about them. It's a new frat house, called the Delta Iota Kappa, or DIKs. It's right over there," Maya indicated the huge mansion with a banner spelling out their frat name across the side of it. The black guy with the orange and black jacket was walking back towards the mansion, greeting the other guys there who also had the same jacket as he did. "They have only been around for a couple of years, and their name goes hand in hand with their personalities."
"That's a huge mansion, though!" Prince pointed out.
"Yeah, I have no clue how they can afford that place. You'll have to ask them about it," Maya replied. "So...that's about it. Are you thinking of pledging a frat house?"
"I'm not sure…" Prince answered. "I didn't really think about it before coming here."
"Yeah, I hear ya," Maya said. "You can do like the rest and just stay in your shared dorm."
Prince shook his head. "Yeah... I'd rather not. My dorm guy...he doesn't like me."
Maya lightly chuckled. "Damn, Prince. You've barely been here an hour and are already making enemies?"
"I really was trying to be friendly with him, but he hates me for some reason," Prince clarified.
"Well, you can consider me a friend at least," Maya reassured him.
"I really appreciate that, Maya," Prince smiled at her. "You seem like a fun person."
Maya gave him a smile in return and pointed towards a crowd of students standing in front of a woman with red hair and a business casual outfit. "Oh, look! I think that's the tour guide, Professor Cathy, by the entrance! I think you should go tag along and meet some new people."
"What about you?" Prince asked her.
"I'll join you for the first class after lunch," Maya answered. "I need to chat with the HOTs."
Prince took the moment to hug Maya. "Thank you for the help!"
"Aw! You're welcome!" Maya hugged him back before heading off, winking at him. "Later!"
Professor Cathy Jones stood in front of a small group of students, one of which was shirtless and had brown hair. Next to him was the student with glasses, listening intently to the professor's speech. When she asked for any questions, the shirtless student immediately raised his hand.
"Yes, you again…the shirtless one…" Cathy addressed with a hint of exasperation to her tone.
"When does this tour get interesting?" the shirtless student asked impatiently.
The student with glasses rolled his eyes at the sheer bluntness of the question.
"Young man, you are free to leave if you don't wish to hear about the campus history," Cathy sternly replied.
The bespectacled student tried to whisper something to the shirtless student, who ignored him and continued to speak, undeterred. "It just seems so weird that you would spend all this time talking about some dead dudes when you could tell us where to buy liquor and where the best parties are at."
The student with glasses took them off and facepalmed himself while the other students laughed.
"Alcohol is strictly forbidden on campus grounds!" Cathy reprimanded.
"Define campus grounds," the shirtless student pressed on.
"This is campus grounds, Derek," the student with glasses spoke up. "We live and study here."
Cathy turned towards him. "Thank you for clarifying, mister…?"
"SB. It's my preferred name, Professor Cathy," he responded politely. "Please pardon his bluntness. He was just a little…confused, to say the least."
"Yeah! You really should put that in the brochure," Derek complained. "I feel cheated."
He turned around to address the rest of the group. "Don't you all feel cheated?"
"Anyways, if we find you in possession of alcohol or narcotics on campus grounds, there will be repercussions," Cathy resumed.
"Narcotics, too?!" Derek shouted.
"Is that really a surprise?" SB muttered under his breath.
Cathy led the group inside the building, where a security guard stood watching the place.
"In this building you'll find each lecture hall and classroom; there are helpful maps on the walls if you ever get lost," Cathy spoke.
Prince thought otherwise, given how much time it took for him to find his dorm.
"And this college is filled with helpful students," she continued.
A jock from across the main hall chucked a plastic bottle towards Cathy's head.
"Eat shit, Cathy!" the jock jeered.
The security guard ran after the jock. "Stop right there!"
"Ah, yes. Our campus security is always vigilant and close by to help you if you need it," Cathy addressed as they walked onwards to the cafeteria.
"Here is the campus cafeteria. Most students come here to buy their lunch or afternoon snack," she explained. "And that is the end of our tour. Just in time for lunch. I suggest that you eat your lunch here and then we'll meet up in classroom 5K, at 1 p.m."
Once Cathy left the cafeteria, the group dispersed, with Derek going to chat up a short red-haired girl and SB heading to the food counter. Prince looked around and saw that everyone seemed to have someone else to talk to. Trying not to let the awkwardness of being alone get to him, he went to order a burger with french fries and apple juice. He quietly surveyed his surroundings again before walking past a large jock arguing with the messy redhead who now wore a green crop top and a pair of ripped jeans that were cut all the way up to her thighs.
Right as he was about to sit down at an empty table in the corner, SB came up and took a seat opposite him.
"Is this table taken?" asked Prince, unsure of what the other student's intentions were.
"Actually, you got here first," SB answered. "I can move if I'm making you uncomfortable."
"Don't worry," Prince said. "You don't have to do anything like that."
"Alright then," SB acknowledged.
Once Prince took his seat, they started to eat their lunches in silence, both of them having to take their time to chew the rather low-quality food that they had ordered. After getting through a quarter of his meal, SB broke the silence. "My name's SB. What's yours?"
"I'm Prince. What does SB stand for?" Prince asked.
"Son of a bitch."
"...what?" Prince asked, baffled at his answer.
"Just kidding," SB chuckled. "It's just SB, nothing more, nothing less. Besides, my middle name doesn't start with an O since I don't have one."
Prince didn't respond, unsure of what to say to that.
"I think your name is pretty cool by comparison. Were you named after the famous musician?" SB asked with curiosity.
Prince nodded. "Yeah, he's my dad's favorite, so he named me after him."
"I see," SB remarked. "I'm a freshman, so I'm new here at B&R as well."
Prince hesitated. "You could tell?"
"You seemed unsure of your surroundings like myself, so I felt more comfortable approaching you," SB clarified.
Prince relaxed. "Oh, I appreciate your offer, then."
"No problem," SB replied. "Want some of my food?"
Prince glanced at the broccoli on SB's tray and pulled a face at how mushy it looked. "No thanks."
"Oh, it's just that your plate looks, uh…"
"Yeah, I know," Prince cut him off. "Yours doesn't look that much better, to be honest."
"You can say that again. They put about as much effort in this food as they would in one of those copypasta Clucks," SB joked.
"RUDE!" the cafeteria worker shouted, giving SB the stink eye.
Prince winced at how shrill her voice was, while SB appeared to remain unfazed. "Hm. She heard that, it seems."
"So…what exactly are 'Clucks'?" Prince asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
"You haven't heard about Rooster? It's the–"
Before SB could finish his sentence, the scarlet haired girl plopped down at their table, rubbing her forehead. Both of the guys stopped talking, waiting to see if she would leave. Just then, the large jock rushed to the table, trying to pull the girl back up.
"What the fuck, Sage? I wasn't done talking to you!" the jock shouted at her.
"For the last time, Chad…FUCK OFF!" the girl named Sage shouted back at him.
SB looked at Prince and brought his voice down to a whisper. "Prince, let's go somewhere else. Anywhere else."
However, Prince stood up to face the jock named Chad. "Hey, let go of her! You're hurting her."
Chad stared down the freshman. "This doesn't concern you," he responded with a scowl.
"It does," Prince stood his ground. "You shouldn't ever grab someone with that amount of force."
The large jock stepped forward, leaning over Prince. "I said this doesn't concern you. Now leave us be or else…" he warned.
SB darted his eyes between them, worried that either of them would start swinging if things continued to escalate. To his relief, Prince turned towards the security officer standing at one of the cafeteria's entrances and called him over.
"What is going on here?" the officer asked.
"Ask this guy that question?" Prince gestured to the jock.
Chad stepped back and let out a frustrated grunt before leaving with the officer. A moment of silence passed between the three students.
"Thanks…" the girl named Sage trailed off.
"Sage, huh?" Prince noted. "I'm Prince."
"And I'm SB," the bespectacled student followed up. "Were you named after the herb? Or the color, perhaps?"
"Did you find your voice just to make that shitty joke?" Sage deadpanned.
Another moment of silence.
"So…what was that all about?" Prince inquired.
"Just another stupid argument with my even stupider boyfriend," Sage grumbled.
She let out a sigh before continuing. "He thinks he's so smart that he can hide the fact that he's cheating on me. After I found the fucking panties in his gym bag, no less! Then he tries to pretend like it's a new gift for me, when he so knows the truth," she ranted.
"Yeah, it does sound like a bullshit excuse," Prince agreed.
"He's so full of shit," Sage seethed.
"Then why do you date him?" Prince asked.
Sage shot Prince a glare that could melt ice. "Mind your own fucking business."
"Hey, drop the hostility," Prince fired back. "If you don't want to answer my question, that's fine, but I wasn't trying to be nosy with it."
Sage averted her gaze momentarily before looking back at Prince.
"...sorry," she apologized.
Another moment of silence passed between the group.
"I haven't seen either of you around here. Are you two freshmen?" she asked.
"Yeah, we are," SB replied. "And we just met as well."
"I see. Which frat are you guys pledging then?" she inquired.
"Hmm…I don't know if I'm going to pledge," Prince replied.
"Come on, you gotta pledge! You're gonna miss out on a lot of parties otherwise," Sage insisted.
"Well, I came here to study," Prince responded.
SB adjusted his glasses. "I wouldn't say I'm opposed to partying, but I am here to figure out what I want to do later on in my life."
"Ugh, the tri-betas would fit you two the most then," she groaned. "All they ever do is study."
"Are you part of the Eta Omicron Tau sorority?" Prince asked. "You seem to like parties and I think I saw you there while I was touring the houses earlier."
Sage raised an eyebrow at Prince, who quickly realized his mistake.
"Uh…I made sure not to stare as soon as I saw you and the others," he hastily added in.
"Well, first of all, I'm actually their president. Second of all, we just call it HOT, no need for the full name. Third of all, us HOTs can get a lot more wild than what you just saw," she smirked.
"Okay then…" Prince trailed off.
"That was…a lot to digest," SB commented.
Sage got up from the table. "I gotta run. Thanks for the help back there, Prince."
As she walked out of the cafeteria, SB briefly glanced at her before turning back to Prince. "She's rather–"
"Holy fuck!" The shirtless student interrupted, having taken a seat and propping his feet up on the table. "Hey, bros! Did you see the tits on that one?"
Prince and SB turned to face Derek. "That's pretty rude, dude," Prince reprimanded.
"Thanks!" Derek grinned. "What about you, other bro?"
"Perverted as always…" SB tersely noted.
Derek's grin grew wider. "Ha! I totally saw you staring at her ass back there. Never would've taken you for a bona fide ass man."
SB facepalmed himself. "I wasn't talking about myself, you dunce."
"Where's your shirt?" Prince asked him.
"I know! Right? I probably lost it," Derek answered. "You almost gave it to that jock, huh?"
"Almost…" Prince trailed off.
"Yeah, he would have crushed you head on," Derek acknowledged.
"I know how to fight if I really need to, but I'm not here to make enemies," Prince said.
Derek's expression fell in disappointment as he dragged his legs back down. "Whaaat? Come on! You beat up a jock, and the DIKs will let you in, no questions asked!"
"Those guys…" SB spoke up. "From what I heard, they give the alphas a run for their money for how, for lack of a better word, dickish they can be."
"Dudes, are you crazy?" Derek gasped. "I just talked to some students, and they know that the DIKs is where it's at! They throw the best parties, and lately, the HOTs have been partying with them a lot, too!"
"I thought it was the alphas who the HOTs would always party with," Prince remarked.
"Which is why beating that jock up would have been your golden ticket to the DIKs!" Derek proclaimed.
"Then beat him up yourself," SB retorted.
"Ass man…look at me." Derek gestured to himself. "I'm not a fighter. I'm a lover and gentleman."
Right after he said that, Derek spun around and pointed at a blonde professor with black lipstick who was sitting next to a short haired professor. Across them were Cathy and a brunette woman sipping on her drink.
"Holy fuck!" he exclaimed. "Would you look at the milk machines on that one! What do you say, bro and ass man?!"
Prince looked at the adults for a few moments before answering, "If I had to choose, I guess I'd prefer someone like Cathy."
"Flat and boring, huh? Got it," Derek snarked. "Now what's ass man's kind of milf?"
"This is nonsense. I'm not answering that," SB sighed.
"Man, of all the roommates I'd get, it had to be a stick in the ass…man," Derek frowned.
SB let out an exasperated groan.
"You two are roommates?" Prince questioned.
"Loathe as I am to admit it, yes," SB sighed.
"I'd rather have either of you over the one I'm stuck with," Prince followed up. "He just hates my guts for no good reason."
"Darn, that sucks," SB replied. "I tried talking to the receptionist, but she told me that I can't change roommates unless things get extremely bad."
"The betrayal!" Derek loudly gasped before turning to Prince. "Anyways, you're not planning on pledging the DIKs? Think about it! Their parties are next level!"
"Well, as I said to Sage just now, I came here to study, not to party," Prince answered.
"Oh yeah. Sure, sure. Me too," Derek replied.
"Oh really?" SB rolled his eyes.
"Nah. I'm just here for the pussy," Derek stated.
"Figures," SB quipped.
"At least you're honest," Prince remarked.
Derek stood up and whipped out his phone. "Here, take my number! Let me know if you change your mind."
"See ya later, bro and ass man!" Derek waved off Prince and SB.
"...he is not going to let that nickname go, isn't he…" SB muttered under his breath as he took his leave, with Prince following them shortly after.
Once Prince reached the classroom for English, he noticed Derek sitting on a table talking to Maya and SB sitting near the front, listening to what Cathy was saying.
"So, you're going to do it or what?" Derek asked.
Maya shook her head. "In your dreams!"
"Aw, come on! Why not?" Derek begged.
"Just because I'm pledging, I'm not going to hook you up with HOT chicks," Maya rebuffed.
"Not cool," Derek pouted. "Not cool at all."
Derek turned towards Prince. "Hey, bro. Don't try your luck with that one," he pointed towards her. "Total cockblock."
Prince ignored his remark and went to sit next to Maya. "Hey, Maya. Thanks again for the tour."
"No sweat," she smiled.
"What have you been up to?" he asked.
"I went to the HOTs and chatted with Quinn about pledging. She wasn't totally against it," Maya answered. "So, now I'll have to wait for her to call on me."
"Who's Quinn?"
"The vice president of HOT. A total hardass."
"I see you've met Derek," Prince indicated.
"Haha, met him?" Maya laughed. "No, we-"
"Simmer down, students," Cathy announced. "It's time to start."
"Let's chat later, ok?" Maya whispered.
Cathy proceeded to go over the available courses for freshmen, stating that most opt to take "Writing and Communication" for English credits and "Gen. Ed. Mathematics" for math, then she announced that she would begin the year with a couple of tests, prompting Derek to boo out loud and SB to shake his head at Derek.
"Now, now. Don't be scared," Cathy reassured. "These tests will not count toward your final grades. They're just tests that will show me what level you all are on. You may begin."
The first pretest went by without a hitch. Once the time was up, Cathy called everyone up to turn in their tests and dismissed class.
"Hey, Maya. How did it go?" Prince asked her.
"I think it went all right," she responded before asking "So, what are you up to?"
"I'm going to check out the tri-beta fraternity. Wanna come with me?" he asked.
"Sorry, I can't," she replied. " I need to call my boyfriend."
"Ok, have fun," Prince waved her off.
As he walked out of the classroom, he couldn't help but reflect on how abrupt his conversation with her ended.
Prince was about to head towards the library when he suddenly felt something strike his head from behind.
"Hey! What the hell?" he cried out.
"Haha!"
"You got a problem there, tattletale?"
He spun around and saw Chad staring him down across the main room, along with several other alphas behind him.
"Heheh, yeah!" one of the alphas laughed.
"Shut up, Anthony!" Chad shouted back at him.
Annoyed as Prince was at the alphas for harassing him, he knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to provoke them, especially while they had him outnumbered. "Relax, I have no beef with you," he spoke up.
"'No beef', my ass," Chad glowered. "It seems to me like you're making a move on my girl."
"Who, Sage?" Prince questioned. "You've got it all wrong."
"You do realize that campus security won't always be around to save your pretty little ass?" Chad threatened.
Prince took a deep breath, trying to look for a way out. "Come on, I'm not looking for a fight."
"I'll be watching you, freshy," Chad spoke lowly. "And your little friend, too. If you guys don't stay the fuck away from Sage…"
While Prince was still looking towards Chad and the alphas, one of them snuck up behind Prince without him noticing.
"Dawe, here, will show you what happens to freshies like you," Chad finished.
"Take this, bitch!"
Dawe lunged forward, intent on grabbing Prince's boxers and pulling them up. But before he could reach the new student, he felt a hand tightly grip his arm, twisting it behind him. He was stopped cold on the spot, crying out in pain as Prince got knocked down amidst the sudden intervention.
"OW! What the fuck?! Lemme go, you fag!" he yelled.
"Leave him alone. Now," SB ordered, gripping tighter on his arm.
Dawe felt the strength leave his body all at once, and he turned his head to see Chad gesturing towards him to stop what they had started. Right before Dawe felt himself about to collapse, SB let go, leaving him clutching his arm in agony.
"You just messed with the wrong alpha around here! I'll remember this!" Dawe shouted back as he and the rest of the alphas stormed off.
"Hey! Are you hurt?" a light, feminine voice called out nearby.
Prince saw a girl with black hair and a gray dress rush over to him. "No, I'm–"
The boy in the fancy blue suit walked up near Jill, cutting Prince off. "You there. SB, was it?"
"Uh, yes, that would be me," SB replied.
"I've reported you to Professor Burke for assaulting a fellow student on campus," Tybalt accused.
"What?!" SB exclaimed. "He was about to–"
"Spare me your excuses. You're a disgrace to Burgmister & Royce, starting fights on the first day," Tybalt interrupted condescendingly. "I would suggest you not to keep Professor Burke waiting."
"Hey, you really don't have to do this to him," Prince defended. "That jock started it."
But his words were ignored by Tybalt, who turned back to Jill. "Jill, we're going to be late."
"I'm ok, thanks. I'm pretty sure I was about to get wedgied there, but SB saved me from that," Prince replied to Jill.
"It seemed kind of violent on his part, but I guess he didn't have much of a choice…" Jill trailed off before letting out a sigh. "I just can't believe there are still bullies in college. Some boys never grow up."
"Yeah, I certainly learned that the hard way," Prince responded. "I'm Prince. Nice to meet you, Jill."
"Nice to meet you too," Jill smiled. "I think you got some dirt on your clothes," she pointed out.
"Ah...well, nothing that some good old saliva won't get rid of," Prince added, just before realizing how gross that sounded out loud.
"Haha! Euw! I'm glad you're not hurt," she giggled.
"Jill, what's the hold-up?" the boy attempted to cut in.
"Oh! This is Tybalt. Tybalt, this is-" Jill started.
"We're going to be late for our economics lecture, and I want to exchange some words with you before that," Tybalt cut her off.
"Sorry, Prince. I have to go," Jill informed him.
"That's ok. I need to go dislodge something from my ass anyway," Prince spoke. Then he mentally berated himself for saying something incredibly stupid again.
Jill laughed. "Stay safe, Prince."
Prince watched Jill leave with Tybalt as SB came up to him.
"Thanks for saving me back there," Prince told him.
"You're welcome. It's just a shame that I'm being punished for that…" SB sighed.
"I totally get where you're coming from, dude," Prince emphasized.
"Oh?"
"That's a story for another time. I don't want to make you late for him," Prince responded.
"Yeah. Hopefully he'll go easy on me given the circumstances. Bye, Prince," SB told him.
With that, he turned around and walked away, leaving Prince to resume his journey to the library. However, he was stopped by a brown-haired boy who also had glasses.
"Oh, that was a close one and then some. If ass cracks could get callouses, mine would be hard as marble by now," the boy remarked. "I feel for you. I really do."
"I'll be fine," Prince told him. "Hey, you...you wouldn't happen to know someone who can tell me more about the tri-betas?"
"Why would I know about that? Because of my glasses?" the boy raised an eyebrow.
"Uh…" Prince trailed off.
"Just pulling your leg," the boy smiled. "You're in luck. I'm the current tri-beta president. The name's Magnar."
Prince followed suit with his own introduction.
"Are you thinking of pledging our friendly fraternity?" Magnar asked.
"I don't know, to be honest. I wasn't really going to pledge any fraternity, but I didn't want to say no before checking them out," Prince replied.
"Mhm. Follow me."
"This is the campus library. Where we tri-betas usually spend our free time. It's pretty small, but within these walls, you'll find a vast amount of knowledge," Magnar explained. "Please, be seated."
He sat down at a table with a blonde girl with glasses, with Prince moving to sit across from him.
"Prince, this is my girlfriend, Sally. Sally, this is Prince," Magnar introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Prince held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you too, I guess," she spoke tersely, not bothering to shake it. Prince awkwardly brought his hand down back to his side.
"To join our fraternity, you must love to study, but it must also show on your grades. Tell me, how did you do in high school?" Magnar inquired.
"I did ok. Look, I'm not the smartest guy, but I got into college here. And I did come here to study, after all," Prince answered.
"Yeah, that's not enough to qualify you," Sally dismissed.
"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss him. With a proper amount of commitment, he could very well become one of us in due time," Magnar politely disagreed.
"Just for clarification, you guys don't have an actual house, right?" Prince asked.
"Correct. If you're looking for a house to room in, then unfortunately, we don't have the funds for that," Magnar answered.
"Dang…I've been having roommate issues, so I was looking for a different place to stay at." Prince informed. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to pledge you guys."
"Oof…that sucks, but I understand," Magnar sighed. "I hope I'll be seeing you around. I need to make haste. We are playing Dungeons and Gremlins this evening. Come, I'll walk you out."
They walked up to the front desk where a brunette woman was organizing some books.
"Who is that?" Prince wondered.
"Ah! I see that you've spotted Isabella, also known as the Ice Queen," Magnar lowered his voice.
"The Ice Queen?"
"Oh. You're not familiar with role-playing games, are you? Well, think of her as the protector of knowledge. For keeping our books and territory safe, I applaud her...but I applaud her in silence. She has no tolerance for shenanigans, and if you don't keep quiet, she will scold you," Magnar warned.
"Good afternoon, Isabella," he greeted her. She barely glanced up at him before going back to the books.
"I should probably get a library card to check out books, right?" Prince asked.
"Yeah...very smart idea. Go ahead," Magnar responded, quietly snickering as he departed.
Prince thought that her nickname was pretty harsh, so he thought of an icebreaker to tell her. "What did the librarian say to the student?"
"Shhh!"
Prince's expression fell. "Oh, so you've heard that one already?"
A moment of silence followed as she coldly stared at him, unimpressed.
"Sorry…I'm really here to apply for a library card," he continued. "Can you help me with that?"
Isabella continued to stare at Prince. "No."
"…ok…how does this work, then? I'm guessing I need a library card to check out books, right?"
"You use your student ID," she stated.
"Oh, I haven't got one of those yet. I think I'll get mine later this week," he replied.
Unnerved by her cold attitude towards him, he lost track of what he was about to say.
"So...erm...I...nice chatting with you," he hastily added.
He exited the library, feeling Isabella's eyes staring into his back.
"Thank you for coming. Please take a seat over there."
SB entered the counselor's office and sat down at a chair facing towards the desk that Professor Stephen Burke was sitting at.
"I got a report that you allegedly assaulted a student on campus on your first day here," Burke stated, getting right to the point. "Care to explain your side of the story?"
"Yes, I will," SB took a breath before continuing. "What happened was that I saw one of the alphas, Dawe, sneaking up behind Prince, so I stepped in and grabbed his arm to stop him from giving Prince a wedgie."
"Hmm…I see," Burke kept his expression neutral. "Tybalt told me that you left the student howling in pain afterwards. Did you think it was necessary to go that far if you were acting in self-defense?"
"It's true that I twisted his arm," SB admitted. "However, at the time, I felt that he would have broken free and assaulted me or Prince had I not done so. Also, he called me a homosexual slur, so I might have been a bit more forceful than I intended in the heat of the moment."
Burke folded his hands on the desk. "SB, do you know why you were accepted sooner than the others?"
"Is it because of my GPA?" SB guessed.
"Correct. Very few students who apply here have achieved a 4.0 GPA in high school. Due to your outstanding academic record, we've offered you a special scholarship opportunity. So to hear that you got into a fight on your first day left me disappointed."
SB remained silent, not wanting to interrupt the professor.
"At B&R, we have a zero-tolerance policy for violence on campus. Since this is your first day, I'll let you off with a warning, and I will also make sure that the tri-alphas receive this warning as well. If I hear that either you or the tri-alphas are causing trouble again, there will be consequences. Understood?" Burke warned, laying out his terms.
"…understood," SB replied.
"I expect that you don't jeopardize your scholarship opportunity going forward," Burke finished.
Once he was dismissed, SB got up and left the office without looking back.
Prince headed back towards Dorm 66, opening the door and putting his stuff down next to his bed. Across, Troy was lying down on his bed with his hands behind his head and his feet on the wall.
"Hi, Troy!" Prince greeted.
"Shut up," Troy barked.
Prince remained quiet for the next few minutes as he tried to think of a way to get through his roommate.
"So…Troy…" Prince trailed off. "You seem dead set on hating me. Any way I can change your mind?"
"I don't know what you think you're doing right now but stop it," Troy growled. "I don't want to be your friend."
"We don't have to be friends, but we should at least be able to tolerate each other when we're living together," Prince insisted. "Don't you think?"
"If that's so, then shut the fuck up and stop bothering me," Troy hissed. "I can tolerate that."
Prince didn't say anything else, having gotten the message loud and clear. He checked his phone and noticed a message from his dad.
Neil: Hey son! Just checking in. How's college treating you?
Prince: Hey dad! Honestly, it sucks... It's not how I'd imagined it.
Neil: Give it a "college try", son. I'm sure it will be better soon. Love you!
After that, he brought up Josy's number, preparing to call her, but he stopped right before hitting the green call button. He wondered whether it was worth it to reach out to her after finding out that she was already in a relationship. Just then, he was caught off guard by his phone ringing.
"Hey, take it outside!" Troy shouted.
"Yeah, yeah…" Prince muttered as he stepped out and answered the call. "Josy?"
"Prince? Hi!" Josy greeted.
"Hey...how are you?" Prince asked with a smile.
Josy's face brightened up. "Hey! That was my line! I'm great, but enough about me...how's college?"
"It's...ok," Prince wasn't sure how else to describe it without outright lying about it.
"Just ok? Did you meet a lot of new, fun people yet?" Josy asked.
"HEY SHITHEAD! GO AWAY! I CAN STILL HEAR YOU!" Troy yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Some interesting ones, indeed," Prince remarked as he walked away from his dorm. "It's funny; I was actually about to call you."
"Haha! No way!" Josy exclaimed.
"Yeah, I was standing here holding the phone when you called," Prince confirmed.
"What a coincidence!" Josy smirked. "So, why were you almost calling me? Do you miss me or what?"
"Yeah...I miss you, Josy," Prince told her.
"Oh!" Josy paused. "...I miss you too."
Prince decided to shift the topic to avoid making things awkward. "Did you hear anything about the waitlist yet?"
"No, that's kind of why I called, too. I think I will cut my losses already and just move on. I'm actually thinking of quitting my job and moving to the east coast...maybe start working in a mall or do volunteer work, I don't know…" Josy rambled.
"That far away?" Prince asked. "...what about me?"
"I...erm...sorry, this was a stupid idea," Josy backpedaled. "I shouldn't have called you."
"Hey, don't hang up…can I come to see you soon?" he asked.
"Soon? You just left…" she trailed off.
"Yeah, I did. But you saying that you're about to move even further away...it feels weird," Prince remarked.
"I just...feel like I need to get away for a while. It's been tough lately…" Josy said with a hint of sadness.
"How about I come back home this weekend?" Prince offered.
"This weekend? It's your first weekend in college! You should be partying! Would you give that up for me?" Josy asked, hopeful.
"In a heartbeat," Prince smiled.
"Ok. See you Saturday...or Sunday?" Josy asked.
"I'll let you know."
"Bye…"
After Prince hung up, he re-entered the room and sat on his bed. He got his guitar out and started playing it, reminiscing on his 12th birthday when his dad gave him the most precious gift he could have asked for.
"That sounds pretty sweet…" Troy spoke up.
"Thanks…" Prince said, surprised at how Troy wasn't being overly hostile to him for once.
"You wrote that?" Troy asked.
"No, my dad played this song on the radio when I was twelve. I…forget it, it's stupid," Prince retracted his words.
"It probably is," Troy grumbled.
Well, that moment didn't last long.
Once Prince finished his song, he set the guitar down and prepared to call it an early night.
In the hallway of the east wing, SB approached his roommate Derek, who was waiting outside of Dorm 69.
"Hey hey! Ass man! What's up?" Derek called out, reaching out for a high five.
"Is that supposed to be your nickname for me?" SB frowned, leaving him hanging.
"Yep!" Derek said as he brought his hand back.
"Both crude and uninspired simultaneously," SB sighed.
"So, what have you been up to?" Derek asked.
"I got sent to the counselor's office after saving Prince from getting wedgied by Dawe," SB explained. "Burke let me off with a warning, but that's the only one I'll get."
Derek dropped his jaw. "Damn dude! I heard that you really gave it to that jock, but I wasn't expecting that you would get in trouble for it."
SB looked at him with mild surprise. "How did you hear about that so soon?"
"Word travels fast around here," Derek replied.
"Well then…how about you?" SB changed the subject.
"I'm trying to find out who's really in charge of this place," Derek responded.
"Please clarify," SB stated.
"Well, rumor has it that there's more to this place than what it appears to be," Derek added. "I'm trying to find out who's calling the shots and how to get in on the action."
"Oh really? And what makes you suspicious, if I may ask?" SB asked with interest.
Derek leaned in and cupped a hand around his mouth, lowering his voice. "Open your eyes, I think you'd see that there's something weird going on if you just look hard enough. I mean, how can the HOTs afford to pay tuition for the freshies? Why do the security guards treat some people differently?"
"...he asked while walking around half-naked," SB snarked before turning serious. "I'll give you a shirt if you really need one, by the way."
"Haha! Fuck off! I'm not bullshitting you!" Derek laughed. "But enough about that...how did the English test go?"
"Eh, pretty good," SB shrugged. "I'm sure I passed it."
"Tests don't have to be that hard, you know. If you want, I can give you some pointers to 'pass' tests easier," Derek suggested.
SB gave him a disapproving look, knowing exactly what Derek was getting at. "So you're offering me cheats, basically."
"Cheat? ME!?" Derek exclaimed. "HAHA! Well, I'd never–"
A student momentarily glanced at Derek before walking past him.
"Look, ass man, trust me. I have some pointers for you...not for free, of course; a dude's gotta eat," Derek offered, lowering his voice again.
SB shook his head. "Yeah, that is so not happening,"
"Okay, that's cool," Derek said.
SB turned his back on Derek and walked off. "Well, I need to use the bathroom. See you back at our dorm."
"Later, ass man!" Derek called out after him.
SB let out a frustrated grunt as he headed off to the all gender bathroom. He passed by the vending machine, which had a student vigorously shaking it back and forth. He was about to tell the student to quiet down when he noticed two girls in scantily-clad clothing coming out of the bathroom together. One of them appeared to be Japanese, while the other had silver hair with an undercut. Ignoring the noise that the student was making with the vending machine, he whipped out his phone and started scrolling through his phone, fixing his eyes on his phone while keeping his ears wide open.
"Camila, Maya, and Mona, I think," the silver haired girl stated.
The Japanese girl glanced at her doubtfully. "If you say so, Quinn."
The girl named Quinn hardened her expression as she stared back at the Japanese girl.
"Yeah, I know," the Japanese girl spoke up. "But you have to admit it was easier last year."
"That was because of you, you know," Quinn reminded her.
"Fuck, I'm bored," the Japanese girl sighed. "Wanna get your groove on?"
"Shh. That guy over there might be making a lot of noise, but these hallways have ears," Quinn whispered. "Follow me."
Once the sound of their footsteps faded away, SB put his phone away and proceeded to the bathroom.
"What a perplexing state of affairs…" he thought.
He entered one of the stalls and was about to sit down when he noticed a hole in the wall to his right. The phrase "eat up" was scrawled across the top of the hole, and he heard someone whistling on the other side.
"Why is there a hole in the wall?" he wondered, perplexed at this discovery. "Is it for sharing food?"
Once he was done washing his hands, he headed back to his dorm room, hoping that his first night with Derek wouldn't be so bad.
He was wrong. He was so very wrong.
The first sign to SB was the stench of body odor that permeated from Derek's side of the room. The second was his snoring, which was about as easy to listen to as a buzzsaw slicing through wood.
It was going to be a long night, that's for sure.
Prince found it tough to fall asleep in his bed himself. It had been a long day between meeting a lot of new people, the call with his longtime crush Josy, and having to put up with his utter asshole of a roommate. Just as he was about to close his eyes and try again, he heard the sound of footsteps, followed by the door opening and closing.
"Huh? Where's Troy going?" he wondered.
Prince thought over whether it was a good idea to follow him, since if he got caught doing so, Troy would likely kick him out for good. However, he was still curious as to why Troy was such a jackass to him to begin with. With that in mind, he decided to take the risk and slowly crawled out of his bed. He put on a shirt and shoes and snuck out of his room, making sure that he was as quiet as he could be with the door. From there, he caught a glimpse of Troy turning a corner, and he continued to follow his roommate while walking lightly. Eventually, Troy exited the building with one of the side exits, and Prince followed suit.
Down the stairs waiting was a familiar face that surprised Prince.
"Hey, Troy," Chad greeted. "Did they come back again?"
"No, and thank fuck for that," Troy drawled. "But now I've got this annoying dipshit of a roommate hogging up my place."
"Who is it this time?"
"Prince."
"Ugh," Chad groaned. "Of all the possibilities, it had to be him."
Prince felt his heart race as he hid behind the wall. It would be bad enough if he got kicked out of his dorm for spying on his roommate; now the president of the tri-alphas would have a whole new reason to make his time at B&R a living hell.
"At least you're not the one who's stuck living with that guy," Troy grumbled.
"Troy, I know what happened to you wasn't fair at all. But we've been through this before. All I can do is continue to be their president and her 'boyfriend' while I can," Chad reiterated.
"I know, I know," Troy muttered.
Troy suddenly froze, whipping his head around. "Anyone around?"
Chad checked behind him. "As far as I can tell, nope."
Troy relaxed his posture and gave a small smile. "I'll make this one quick then."
Troy then did something Prince never would have ever expected. He leaned into Chad and kissed him on the lips.
Prince had to clench his hand over his mouth to stifle out his gasp.
"When are we meeting again?" Troy asked.
"I'll be busy for the next few days," Chad replied. "I'll let you know when I'm available as soon as I find a good time for us."
"Got it," Troy acknowledged. "Sweet dreams, mate."
Prince realized that he absolutely needed to get back to his dorm before Troy spotted him, so he turned around and speed walked his way back. Thankfully, he had memorized the directions to his dorm, so he got back without a hitch, making sure that the door was closed behind him and that he was lying down on his bed with the covers pulled over.
Not only did he find out who Chad was cheating on Sage with, but he also knew that Chad swung the other way. He placed a hand on his rapidly beating heart and took deep breaths to steady himself. Just when he thought he had calmed down, he heard the door open, and his heart rate quickly accelerated once again.
Still on edge from what he had just witnessed, it took what felt like an eternity before he finally drifted off to sleep.