Boarding School

I\'ve wanted to do my own take on Dee and Ryo in high school, but I wanted something different and set back in time, so here you have it! Things may begin slowly, but don\'t be discouraged! Anyone who has read my other fics (especially ones like Greek Love) will know that things get VERY hot and heavy!
Reviews are always appreciated! (Flames are not!)
NOTE: My beta reader is still working on this for me, so please bare with my typos *until they finish! Arigatoo!

Disclaimer: I don\'t own fake!

The first day is always the hardest. This was Ryo’s mantra as he walked down the halls of the Pembery Boarding School for Boys. He’d convinced himself that he was looking forward to moving from his aunt and uncle’s small, two-bedroom home to the wide halls and rooms of the school. He’d been lucky to get into the prestigious institution and he was determined to make his family proud.
He just didn’t realize how intimidating the environment would be. As he walked behind the Head Master across the endless doors of classrooms, Ryo tried to imagine how it would feel to call this place ‘home’ and frowned to himself. Everything seemed so- sterile. Almost he laughed as he thought back to the house he’d left just the day before and how warm and inviting it now seemed compared to these polished halls, no matter how cramped it may have been.

“Wait a here moment,” the Head Master said suddenly, motioning Ryo toward the side of the hall. Before he could ask why, the loud, clanging classroom bell rang out and the hallway was abruptly filled with the rush of students. The young sandy-blonde man watched as they passed by without so much as a glance his way. He found that he was searching for a friendly face, someone to at least send a pleasant smile his way, but only a few students paused near him and that was only to send a brief nod of acknowledgement to the Head Master before moving on their way.

Suddenly a loud shout went up at the further end of the hall as a group of rowdy teen boys burst out of a classroom, their teacher close on their heels. “I’ll expect ALL of you boys to hand that paper in by the end of the day!” the instructor yelled after them. Ryo quickly noted that the three boys in question were rubbing their behinds with cross looks over their faces. So they did use corporal punishment here. He let out a breath and prayed he’d never have to feel the sting of the paddle in front of the class.

“Just a moment Randy” the Head Master said as he stepped into the bustling hallway to stop the progress of the three unruly students. “Well, well,” he said in an exasperated tone, “Mr. Laytner, why am I not surprised to find you in the midst of trouble?” Ryo watched as the Master faced off with the boy Ryo assumed must be the leader of the group. His uniform looked a bit rumpled and his tie was askew, but it wasn’t the boy’s clothes that caught Ryo’s attention, it was his eyes. The dark-haired boy was looking at the authority figure with clear dislike; his jade green eyes staring challengingly back at the middle-aged man in defiance. Ryo would never have dreamed of confronting someone so openly, let alone the head of the entire school! He didn’t know if he admired this ‘Laytner’ for his guts or thought he was just stupid.

“Professor Hartmann already ‘reprimanded’ us…Sir” the dark-haired boy replied.

For a moment they stood facing each other, until the green-eyed student shifted restlessly. “We have to get to our next classes, sir,” he said nodding toward his friends still standing behind him.

The Head Master shrugged and stepped aside to let them pass, but Ryo heard him tell Laytner as he walked by, “You’ll never amount to anything if you keep the street tough attitude Mr. Laytner.” The boy acted as if he heard nothing, but Ryo saw in his face that the comment bothered him. The crowd suddenly shifted and Laytner almost ran right into Ryo in his rush to get past the Head Master. The honey blond felt himself staring into those intense green depths and, for some reason he couldn’t fathom and to his considerable embarrassment, he blushed. He’d never met anyone whose presence seemed so palpable a force. He swore he could almost feel it push against his every nerve.

“What the hell you lookin at new fish?”

For a moment Ryo felt as if he’d been physically slapped, so harsh was the dark-haired boy’s tone before he moved on down the hall.

The first day is always the hardest, Ryo repeated to himself under his breath.

“Don’t let any of these boys fluster you,” said a voice behind Ryo. He turned to see the Head Master who had begun walking down the now empty hallway. The slender blonde turned and quickly followed, but he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of his heart sinking toward his feet. Trying to focus his mind he pushed his attention toward his real reasons for being here: to get a good education so he could go on to get a well-paying job to support his aunt and uncle who had been so kind to him. Straightening his posture, Ryo firmed his resolve and quickened his step.

“Here you are, Mr. Maclain,” the older man said, opening one of the dorm rooms. Ryo stepped inside and gazed about the bare room. It wasn’t completely uninviting: the sunlight coming through the high narrow windows cast a soft gold glow about the dusty room, but there wasn’t much else to speak of.

“I thought I would have a roommate,” Ryo said, voicing his thoughts aloud as he set down his small suitcase. It was his only baggage.

“So did we, but the room recently opened, so you’re in luck,” he replied smiling.

Ryo did his best to smile in return, but he didn’t particularly feel like it. The naturally shy boy had been looking forward to having a roommate. He thought that, if nothing else, he would have someone to eat meals with and to introduce him around. Now he would have to face everything alone. And after the brief encounter with the Laytner boy, he wasn’t sure he was looking forward to meeting the other students.

The Head Master wished him well and reminded him to join the other students in the Dining Hall for supper. He would not be expected to attend classes until the next day. Ryo thanked him and watched him leave, shutting the door behind him.

Lying down on the starched sheets of the bed, Ryo’s mind drifted back to the boy who’d so casually dismissed him. Why did it bother him so much? As sensitive as Ryo was, he didn’t consider himself that thin-skinned. Normally he probably would’ve been angered by such an encounter. But this had been different. Maybe it was because… because he’d somehow felt a connection with the other boy at that instant their eyes locked and he’d been brought up so abruptly by the callous words.

Closing his eyes, Ryo sighed to himself and stretched out on the bed. He was too tired to think about all this right now. Now he would get some rest before dinner. Just a brief nap…

Ryo jumped up with a start. How long had he been asleep? Looking around, he noticed the room had fallen into darkness. Shit! He cursed to himself and brushed off the now-rumpled school uniform before darting out the door and down the echoing hallways.

Of all the ways to start at his new school, Ryo could think of nothing worse than being tardy to his first appearance. He was about to find out differently.

Every few seconds Ryo glanced at his watch and looked around to make sure there was no one to he him running through the quiet halls. If he could get there in the next couple minutes, it would be alright. Just around another corner-

“HMPH!” Ryo’s breath was knocked out of him as he landed with a hard THUD on the wood floor. The shaken boy lifted himself up, trying to regain his breath. He didn’t remember seeing anything on the floor, what had he tripped over? Looking around he heard a muffled laugh and looked up to see a pair of emerald eyes sparkling from above him. One of the boys the blonde had seen with him earlier stood behind him with a smirk.

“Where are you going in such a hurry new boy?” said the dark-haired boy, kneeling down next to him. “Already a lap dog for the Head Master?”

The blonde’s brow furrowed, the anger in him now won over and he clutched at his chest. “Damn…. You!” he sputtered, coughing as the air filled his lungs once more.

“Come on, get up, you’re fine!” Laytner said, tugging on Ryo’s arm. The slender blonde ripped his arm away from the boy’s grip.

“I- I don’t need your help!” he said with some heat, but he continued to cough between breaths. He looked up at the other boys with narrow eyes.

“Look,” the brunette said with a sigh, “I didn’t mean to really hurt you, calm down.”

Ryo’s gaze didn’t waver. His anger didn’t abate so easily. “Like you care,” he said, finally standing up.

The dark-haired boy laid a hand on Ryo’s shoulder, “Hey, we’re not bad guys- are we Aaron?” The other boy, with short, red-blond hair nodded in agreement.

“Just leave me alone,” Ryo replied, stalking back down the hall.

“Hey, man, wait!” the other boy called, stepping up next to him. “You don’t want to be late, right? Well, we can show you a way in so they won’t know you’re late- Whaddya say?”

Ryo was just about to reject the offer when Laytner casually draped him arm over the honey blonde’s shoulders and Ryo sighed in resignation. He knew he probably shouldn’t trust him, but again Ryo felt that sudden connection to this green-eyed boy and he nodded in affirmative.

“This way!” Aaron said, waving them down a stairway that Ryo hoped was going to get them to the Dining Hall without being noticed. He doubted they could make it on time.

“Ok, just through here,” Ryo heard Laytner say as he opened a large, ornate wooden door at the end of a dark hallway.

The blonde saw a rich, bright light fall through the door and, in his eagerness, he pushed passed Aaron up next to the dark-haired boy, asking, “Well, did we make it on time?”

It wasn’t until he looked through the open door that he saw that they were actually facing the entire Dining Hall- from behind the faculty’s own table.

“Oops, “said the green-eyed boy, “Wrong door!”

**Ok, so I know this is probably a bit different from what you were expecting- Dee being kinda mean and I bet some people were probably expecting me to say that the Head Master was the Chief (or Rose), but I won\'t lead you astray! In the next chapter you\'ll see why it would just NOT be good to have the chief as the Master!
*** Reviews always help fuel the creative process, so let me know what you think and I\'ll do my best to write quickly!