Love Block

"Aaah~" I sang, cracking my knuckles as we walked around our new school's gates. "That was refreshing. It's been a while since I laid into someone like that." I grinned at Rei and then turned my attention to where I was walking, since I had the nasty habit of tripping over nothing.
The school was something that was rare in this day and age. A completely segregated private academy with girls on one side of the white-barred fence and boys on the other. The school itself looked like a giant church, and there were rumors going around that it used to be a Catholic school--which would explain why it looked like a church. I thought it was pretty, to be honest, even if it was way too bright, with its white walls, large, stone courtyard, and tall steeple-like structures, but I had no idea what Rei thought. And it was huge. Like, beyond huge. The whole school took up three blocks. It seemed like its own town with its brick roads, tall trees and large separate buildings used for whatever purposes. The weirdest thing, though, was the clock tower standing next to the center building. The center building was big enough as it was with its stone pillars topping off the landing to the wide stairs that led up to the very tall double-doors. A round window was near the top of it, centered prettily and letting in loads of sunlight. . But the clock tower didn't make sense. It looked like the one right out of Peter Pan, but this one was old. Old and worn and not white like the rest of the school. And the clock was broken, stuck at 2:36, the face-glass broken in.
It kind of made me want to break that circle window just to make it even.
But damaging school property could be done later. Right now, we were heading to the dorms to check in. Thankfully, our moms had sent our stuff over already. Being the crazy parents they were, they hadn't even batted an eye when we told them what Rei had gotten us into. In fact, my Mom had laughed, slapped me on the back and said, "Have fun with that! Oh, what I wouldn't give to film this. Ahahaha! Do your best, son."
I frowned, remembering it, and looked at Rei. "Hey, which dorm do you think it is?"
The buildings in front of us were completely identical, stone, and obviously new, structures that did not fit in with the the layout of the school. Which was probably why they were placed way in the back and off to the side in the middle of one of the many large, green fields that frequented the place.
Rei looked up at the two tall buildings and shrugged slightly, then pointed at the one on the left. "That one!!!" She laughed as she ran ahead of me and headed into the dorm without even a single glance back. "HEY! Hurry up, damn it!!!" She yelled from the entrance.
I snorted out a laugh, then ran after her, catching up just as she reached the door. She reached out a hand to the handle, but I stopped her, looking up at another set of large, double-doors that towered over us a good thirteen feet. "Wait. You better let me. Especially with those muscles." I laughed as she punched me and opened the door. Easily, it swung open a little on well-oiled hinges. I looked through the crack and pulled my head back just as quickly as I had put it there, then shut the door, closing my eyes and shaking my head.
"What is it?" Rei asked, trying to get around me.
I gave her a disgusted look. "Pink," I grimaced. "It's all freaking pink."
Rei opened the door and went inside, then made a gagging sound and stuck out her tongue. I had no choice but to follow her in, leaving the door ajar. "Do they expect all guys to turn gay, or something?" She shivered a little as her face turned pale. "Oh, God, Pillow. Are they expecting all guys to like . . you know. . ?" She looked at me with a freaked out expression, but it was gone in a flash as she looked ahead of us. "Hey. Girls. ." She pointed in front of her at the groups of girls swarming down the hall and around us.
"Who are you?" one of them asked.
"I haven't seen them before," another exclaimed.
"Hey, they're really hot," I heard one whisper eagerly.
I looked at Rei and we shared a look then burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. It was too funny. First day here, and already we were surrounded by girls and in trouble. "Rei," I laughed, pitching my voice a little lower--not that it needed to be, but there was no harm. "It looks like we walked into the Girls' Dorm. So much for your sense of direction."
"Your damn right you two walked into the wrong dorm!" A high, shrill voice called out.
Rei and I turned our heads around quickly, unsure where the hell it came from, only to see the ocean of girls part like the Goddamned Red Sea to reveal a shortish girl. . Well she was shorter than us, which wasn't saying much since we're pretty tall ourselves. But this chick was tiny with really long, poofy white-ish blonde hair held back by a ribbon tied in a bow. She had a small, heart-shaped face that went beyond cute and made me think "plastic surgery" and large, round red (no joke, they were red) eyes. Stupid contacts.
"Uh-oh. This looks bad. . " Rei mumbled, nervously glancing at me.
The fiery eyed girl walked towards us with quick precision and determination, her eyes set on us. I had a feeling we were gonna get it. "How dare you two just bust in here?" A small smile grew as she got closer to us, and I watched her whole demeanor change from pissed to flirtatious. "You're just lucky that your cute." She spoke to me, not even looking at Rei or even glancing in her direction. Instead, she sidled up to my side, a little too close for comfort.
I swallowed, hearing the obviously loud snort come from Rei as she watched the scene. I gave the girl a sweet smile, trying to keep up appearances. "Thanks. You're not bad yourself." I glanced at Rei and she made a gesture to continue talking. Right. No help there. Looked like this was my problem. "Look, my buddy and I are really sorry. We didn't know which dorm was which."
One of the other girls tried to say something, but an icy glare from Ms. Fire here shut her up real quick. It was obvious to say that this chick was Miss Queen Bitch around here. She turned a smile on me. A really sickly sweet smile. "That happens all the time around here since the dorms look so alike. So, what's the name of this cute boy right here?"
I glanced at Rei as the girl got closer, making me have to lean away to try and get some breathing room. "Uh. . Terran. Terran St. John. This is my friend, Rei Thompson." I deliberately directed her attention to Reina, but she just gave her a cursory glance then turned her attention back on me.
"I'm Lillian Jiles," she cooed, walking her fingertips up my chest. Thank God those bandages were working. "You're definitely a transfer student."
I felt a bit of relief when Rei put her arm around me and I could lean into her so that she was in Lillian's line of sight as well. "Well, Miss Jiles, it was nice meet you," she said, then motioned towards the swarm of girls behind the freaky red-eyed Lillian, and cooed easily, sounding more like a guy then I ever though possible. She must have been paying closer attention to my brothers than I realized. The thought made me wonder just how close. "But you see we have things to do right now. I am very sorry to have bothered you girls with drama like this. So if you would please excuse us. . "
Reina grabbed my hand without waiting for the girl's answer and moved us quickly away from the freaky chick. Though it didn't make me feel any better when her voice called out to us loudly, "Come back any time to see me, Terran St. John. I'll be waiting."
I glanced over my shoulder at her and took in her smile and confident stance, then tugged at my hand, to make Rei slow down. Queen Bitch needed to be taken down a few notches. I raised a brow at Lillian and said with a cocky smile, "Don't wait too long, Lillian. Your hair might turn grey, though from the looks of things, you've already waited forever."
A satisfied smile came over me when her hand flew to the top of her head and a perturbed expression came over her face. Rei laughed as she dragged me out of the dorm.
"Well," I said when the door closed behind us. I smiled at Rei. "That was an adventure and a half."
Rei took a deep breath after all of her fits of laughter and smiled brightly. "Yup." She laughed softly and nudged my side. "Looks like you're a lady killer, dude," she emphasized. "This year is gonna be F.U.N."
We both started laughing at our stupidity and headed into the "right" dorm to see the "right" sex walking around. Guys, guys, guys. Everywhere you turned and looked were all guys.
"Man this is gonna be a blast," Rei said softly to no one in particular with a smirk plastered on her face.
I chuckled softly like I had heard my brothers do all the time and glanced around to see a giant board filled with words and letters, then seeing the giant sign above read out "DORM ROOM ASSIGNMENTS!!" in large red letters.
"Looks like that's our place," I said to her, pointing at the sign.
Rei nodded slightly, leading the way to the sign. "Hey, do you think we'll get our own rooms?" she asked suddenly. "Or are we gonna be, like, stuck with some weird guy who's obsessed with skulls or, like, has this weird fetish for like baby clothes?" To be honest, the first part sounded a bit more realistic then the last part of the question. But that was probably because babies were the last thing on most guys mind--well in my opinion anyway. . At least, I hoped they were.
As we searched for our names on the board, I hoped like hell they hadn't screwed this up. "Considering we called and asked to be placed in the same room? I'm already stuck with some weirdo who likes skulls and has a fetish with baby clothes." I laughed at her outraged expression, then ducked away from a punch she threw at me. "It's unlikely," I told her, going back to looking at the board. "I mean, we did call. Oh! Hey, I found my- What the hell?!"
I stared at my name. It was written there plain as day in easy-to-read black lettering, but it felt like a death sentence. I felt the color run out of my face.

Terran St. John, Joey Lavenure - Room 311

No way. . No way. No way! I was rooming with a guy. A boy. As in male. "How did this happen?" I whispered in shock. I turned wide, frightened eyes on Rei. "Rei, how did this happen?" My voice came out full of disbelief.
She was laughing. "Not like I know." She slapped me on the back, snapping me out of my daze. "I got my own room, though. Look, it's just down the hall. Four oh nine." She grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the dorm. The right one, this time. "Let's go see what kind of pervert you're stuck with."
As we ran up the steps to the dorm, I noticed with irony the little brass placard by the doors that read "Boys' Dorm". Well, that was just dandy. Missed it by that much. It made me smile, though.
Rei flung open the door and ran up the reception desk, dinging the little silver bell there to get the Resident Adviser's attention. The boy who walked out was tall, gorgeous and blonde. He also had a sucker in his mouth and was carrying a stuffed, black bunny that looked like it had seen better years. I couldn't help but stare. He really was pretty. With a nearly perfect face, he had almond-shaped, large, green eyes with a think set of lashes, high cheeks, thin, brown brows and straight, bleached-blonde hair that was cut in a way that made his head look rounder than it probably was and fell into his eyes and across his forehead at a slant. A little mole at the corner of his left eye topped of his perfect face, and as I trailed my eyes lower, I found that there wasn't much wrong there, either.
He wore a simple turquoise tank top over another white tank with the straps falling down his shoulders. Thick bracelets covered his wrists in leather and a studded leather belt hung from his waist, obviously just their for decoration and not for holding up his slightly-baggy, faded jeans. Sandals finished the look.
"Hi!" he said cheerfully with a large smile that nearly made my jaw drop. "What's up?"
Rei leaned on the counter, flashing him a smile and pointing at me. "My friend here, he was supposed to be rooming with me, but it seems he got the wrong room assignment."
I sighed. Great. Rei was already used to referring to me as a guy. Somehow, that wasn't surprising, I'd always been told I fit more with boys anyway, but it kind of hurt to know she didn't have to think much about the switch over.
"What's your room number?" the boy asked.
"Three eleven," I answered easily.
The boy's eyes lit up and he surprised us both by hopping over the counter and taking my hand, shaking it furiously up and down. "That's so cool!! Hi! I'm your new roommate, Joey. Oh, I'm so glad that you finally got here. I was thinking that I'd have to sleep alone in such a large room again, and I didn't like that idea at all."
I looked from Rei, who was trying really hard not to laugh, to the boy, Joey, and searched my mind for something to say. I got nothing.
"Joey!" a sharp voice reprimanded. I turned my head and saw another gorgeous boy. This one was taller than Joey by a good head and had dark hair that fell into his right eye as it swept over from its part on the left side of his head. His eyes were narrow and a deep brown under arching brows, his nose sharp and his cheeks high and pale. His mouth was lush and pink and slightly on the wide side, and his long, lean body was encased in a simple jeans and t-shirt. Damn, I nearly drooled. The only problem was that he gave off a really scary aura. Like, scary scary. Like, I'll-kill-you-if-you-look-at-me-wrong aura.
"I told you not to play R.A.," he reprimanded Joey with a frown.
Joey finally released my hand only to pout at the other boy. "But that's no fun. I like playing R.A. People actually believe me."
The boy ignored Joey and came out from behind the counter, offering Rei a hand. Rei didn't take the hand and I quickly moved to grab it instead, relieving her. His mouth remained firm, though, his face expressionless. "I'm Jesse Cavern, the real R.A.," he said, shooting Joey a look that could peel paint.
"Y-Yeah," I stammered, totally worried. I looked to Rei for help. And she had better help, or the next time she was at a loss for words with a guy, she was on her own. But when my eyes connected with hers, she looked like she was completely entranced. I followed her gaze to the tall, scary R.A., Jesse. I sucked in a sharp breath. Oh great, she'd found her newest target. I cleared my throat and rammed my elbow into her side making her yelp out in pain.
"YOWCH!!! What the hell was that for?!" she shouted, rubbing her side and glaring at me.
I gave a nervous laugh and glanced to the two boys in front of us. "Sorry for my moronic friend here. He's not too used to being around guys with such. . different auras." I hoped to hell I didn't sound rude. Probably failed. Like epically.
"Hey, that's not true," she protested, then turned a complete one-eighty and smiled at Jesse. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rei!"
Her perkiness made me want to shoot myself. I had totally forgotten she went girly-girl when a hot guy was around. We were gonna have to talk about that. But, as I watched her, looking at her as if she was a guy, I thought that maybe it wouldn't matter. She'd already said she didn't mind being considered gay. .
I smiled wickedly. Her fault if she got a reputation she didn't want.
Jesse stared at me and I stared back, a little more than just skittish. He sent my nerves spiraling out of whack. And he stared, intently, right at my face, his eyes skimming up and down my body. He crossed his arms, frowned. Or frowned deeper, anyway. "You're really skinny for a guy."
A blush heated my cheeks and Rei's smile cracked, widened, then she laughed, watching me even as I wrinkled my nose, grabbing my arm in embarrassment. "I-I'm still growing, okay?" I snapped. "Not everyone can be as gorgeous as you two."
Rei laughed harder, bent double at my lack of a filter between my brain and my mouth. As soon as I said it, I mentally screamed at my stupidity. Who the hell wants to be told something like that by a stranger? Another guy, no less! Stupid, stupid, stupid. But, amazingly, a smile bloomed on his face. I say bloomed because, when he smiled, it lit up his dark features and turned his face from scary to absolutely breath-taking, making his eyes sparkle. But it faded as quickly as it had come, making me wonder if I had hallucinated or something.
Rei stood, and, wiping her eyes, I almost felt sorry for her because she missed it. "Jeez, Tarren. You really know what to say when you're embarrassed."
I frowned at her. "Oh, shut up, Rei." I looked at Jesse. "Anyway. Is there any way to change my room so that I'm with he-uh, him," I asked, pointing at Rei.
Jesse shook his head. "Afraid not. It's too close to when the year starts. All the rooms are assigned already. Can't move people around."
I swallowed and Rei threw her arm around my shoulder, smiling widely and obviously enjoying herself. "Looks like you're stuck with Joey, Pillow."
I looked at the blonde angel--who looked like he wanted to cry from my refusal of being his roommate, to be honest--and sighed. I hoped he was harmless. "I guess it's not all that bad."
Joey's face brightened instantly. "Really?! You'll stay with me?" He grabbed my hands, nearly bouncing with excitement. "Great! This is great! we're gonna be great friends, I just know it."
As I stared at the boy eagerly shaking my hands up and down, I had a feeling that maybe fooling him wasn't going to be so hard.



Riiiiight. This was weird. After Joey's million-a-minute exclamations about how it was going to be so much fun being roommates, Jesse had offered to "escort Rei to her room" while Joey showed me where we would be staying. And, boy, was I in for it.
The room itself wouldn't be so bad-- in fact, the whole dorm wouldn't be, with it's reddish walls and ceilings, and floors that were all engraved fancily, and the large windows that let in huge amounts of light --but the room I was staying in was a little much. It was just like every other part of the dorm: an off-reddish with a large window and two giant beds, but the left side of this one was covered--and I mean covered--in stuffed animal toys. The collection was beyond huge and Joey obviously had an obsession, but I just kind of let it go. I'd seen worse. . I think.
He frowned at the large pile, his face scrunching up in a cute pout. "They were given to me," he said, indicating the toys. "It's not like I wanted them. Everyone just thinks it fits my image." He shrugged and plopped onto his bed, smiling down at the black bunny in his hand. I sat on my bed, listening. "This one was just given to me today, though. I was walking to the convenience store near here and a little girl saw me." He smiled widely, glancing up at me. "She was a fan and I couldn't convince her I wasn't who I was--which I am, so it's kinda hard anyway--and she gave me a hug and gave me her stuffed animal. Said it was her favorite toy, but she liked me better so she wanted me to have it. I promised to carry it around today as a thank you."
I was speechless. For a minute. "Uh. . That's quite a story, but fan? Why would someone be your fan?"
He blinked at me, then frowned, pointing at himself. "I'm a model. The model, Joey Lavenure. I have a whole website dedicated to me and posters everywhere around the city! I've done commercials too." He leaned forward. "Jesse's one, too. And my friend, Sandy. We're the top models of the country right now and all the rave, if you know what I mean."
"Uh. . . I don't really pay attention to that kind of stuff," I said truthfully. I had never seen him before. I mean, he looked sort of familiar, but I didn't watch t.v. or go out much, so I had no information on that stuff. "Sorry. I don't keep up with the trends. I'm more of an inside gir- uh, guy."
"Aww." His face scrunched up again. "That's no fun. Everyone knows who we are."
"So. . " I started. "You and Jesse are close?"
"Close?" he repeated with a smile. "Jesse's my best friend. He takes care of me. Thinks I can't do anything by myself." He leaned in closer and whispered, "I'll let you in on a secret. I can do a lot more than he thinks."
I smiled. I couldn't help it, he was just like a child. "Oh yeah? I bet so."
"Hey," he sang. "You know, you're really pretty for a guy. Especially when you smile. Are you a model, too?"
I blushed. "A model? Why would I be?" The thought actually horrified me a little. All the publicity and the fame. I would never be able to handle it. I'd go insane within the week. That was, if I ever got popular. Fat chance.
He smiled, a smile that made him seem his age instead of a little kid. It was almost like he was flirting. "You should try it sometime. You might like it. I can't believe you've never heard of me."
Well, obviously, I was different. Didn't surprise me much. I was always weird. But I bet Rei had heard of these guys. She'd fill me in.
A couple hours later, after the sun had gone down and Joey had run off somewhere, I had finished unpacking the boxes of my crap and organizing. Thankfully, most of what I had wasn't by definition "girly", so it all could stay out without worry. . The tampons were a little harder, though. I couldn't leave them out for just anyone to see, so I tucked them in my nightstand. It's not like I used them that often anyway since I only got my period once every five months or so. But once was enough.
My stuff wasn't anything anyone else wouldn't own. It was nothing unique or out of the ordinary. Just books, really. That and my laptop, a blanket I could never find it in myself to get rid of, my drawing stuff, my iPod and the assortment of clothes my brothers had given-slash-bought me. After that was all done, I was done.
I had already changed into my pajama bottoms and was just taking off my shirt when the door opened.
"Joey. I need-" Jesse started, already half way through the door. He froze when he saw me, his eyes instantly zeroing in on my bandaged breasts.
"Oh, shit!' I gasped, pulling my shirt down. As embarrassed as I was, I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room, closing and locking the door behind me.
Looking back at Jesse, I cursed myself for my stupidity. Again. Twice in one day. This seemed to be becoming a habit that I was not liking. I should have locked the damn door. I wasn't being careful enough. But, then, I hadn't expected Jesse to come in, even if he was that close with Joey.
His face was bright red. "Er. . Sorry." He kept his head down, not looking at me. "I should have knocked."
"Yes, you should have," I snapped, frustrated. I walked over to him and grabbed his arm, giving him serious eyes. "You can't tell anyone what you saw. You absolutely can't." Riiiight. Like that was gonna stop him. I furiously wracked my brain for anything that might get him to keep his mouth shut and lighted on an idea and desperately settled on the only thing I could. "You don't want Joey finding out he's rooming with a girl, do you? It'd freak him out."
Jesse slid me a quick glance, then looked away again, his face still red. "N-No." He went silent for a minute. "I wasn't going to tell, though."
Surprise left me blank, and then I laughed. Figures. I go through all the trouble to threaten him only to find out he wasn't going to tell in the first place. I felt like an idiot. Again.
I flopped onto my bed, relieved, and sighed as I stopped laughing. "Thanks, Jesse."
He stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. "Yeah."
I lifted my head and raised a brow at him. "You're not going to ask why?"
He shrugged, his hand gripping his other arm. "It's not my business."
I nodded, letting my head drop. That was good enough for me. "Yeah. Okay."
He shifted, still not looking at me. "Rei. . Is he. .?"
"No," I answered quickly. Least I could do was keep Rei a secret. "He's a guy. A little weird, but a guy."
He nodded, obviously believing me. I wondered if this guy was that gullible. I mean, Rei was way more of a girl than I was. . But whatever.
I held back my sigh of relief, closing my eyes. "Thank you," I whispered. Looked like this was going to be harder than I originally thought. I glanced at Jesse. But maybe having a hot guy be the only one who knows that you're a girl wouldn't be such a bad thing. Besides, he looked like he'd be fun to tease.