Chapter One- 1:3

Seven fifty-five A.M. Five minutes before the first class of the day. Students slowly filter into the room and take their seats, except for one: a single male student with cool composure had been there for a half hour already.

This was the norm, however. With dirty-blonde hair slicked back, out of the eyes and away from the face- hands peaked in front of him with only fingertips touching, occasionally opening and closing in an impatient fidget- and cold blue eyes in a poignant, steady gaze, this was the student-council president.

Studious, focused, intelligent, ambitious, the president held himself to high standards. Early to class, assignments completed well beforehand, area clean and in order, he was ready for his day to begin, and so he sat: silently, with an aura of impregnability about him- unapproachable.

"Ma-a-thew!"

A sleepy, sing-song voice happily called the president's name, and a moment later, the impregnable was breached.

"Rose... they're pressing against me."

"Hm? ...Ah-" The dark-haired beauty had made her way across the classroom quickly, and wrapped herself about him from behind- her arms draped across his chest, and her sizeable bosoms cradling his head, resting on his shoulders. Realizing this to be what he was talking about, she intoned, "It's alright, isn't it?"

With a sigh, Matt's stoic demeanor crumbled as he turned his head upwards to face her. "You know there's only a couple minutes before class starts, shouldn't you be getting to your own classroom?"

"Boo..."

"Don't pout, you know I'm right." The president had cocked an eyebrow and angled a stern expression toward the girl along with his reprimand, but couldn't help but snerk, and let it morph into a smile after noticing the look on her face. "I swear you're part puppy. We'll see each other at lunch, alright?"

Turning away, Rose continued her pouting. "Just wanted to say hi in the morning... it's our anniversary, after all."

"All the more reason not to be in trouble, right? Would just be that much less time together later."

Letting loose a sigh of acquiescence, the girl's pout faded into a more general downcast look as she prepared to follow her boyfriend's directions, only to be stopped by a hand on her neck, drawing her in for a light peck on the cheek.

"See you lunchtime?"

With an immediate change to her countenance, Rose replied with a cheerful "Yep!" then gave him a swift squeeze before deftly making her way out of the room with a fresh bounce to her step.

Matt let out a light chuckle before quietly commenting to himself, "She really is part puppy." and mentally readying himself for class once more.

"Ma-a-theOW." A male voice, copying the intonation and actions of the girl a minute earlier, stopped short of an embrace due to a sudden backhand to the nose. "Frack, man, don't bother holding back or anything, 'kay?"

"Morning Jake. I take it from your energy levels you're ready for class?" Not even turning to see the reddened face of his long-time friend, Matt addressed him without missing a beat.

Dropping his hand from the nose he'd been rubbing, Jake took his seat at the desk next to Matt's, casually sitting sideways to continue chatting with a giant grin. "Ready as ever, El Presidente!"

Matt tilted his head, looking at the other out of the corner of one, piercing eye. "By which you mean... you ignored your assignments entirely, stayed up until odd hours of the morning watching anime, or playing games online and flirting with 'women' who are most likely other lonely men, and currently maintain consciousness only by force of unnatural levels of caffeine?"

Appearing dumbstruck, Jake commented "Ya' know... with that deadpan monotone of yours I can never quite tell if you're joking or not."

"Was I right?

An uncomfortable silence arose, before Jake turned his eyes away awkwardly. "...Maybe a little."

"And by a little you mean..."

With a sheepish grin, the bespectacled boy admitted, "Well, I'm pretty sure there's a chance this one was actually female."

"Then- not." Matt let slip a chuckle, before turning his face back to the front of the room.

"Hey, I'm serious! I mean, at least this one had, y'know, some passable, general knowledge of how her ladybits are supposed to work."

"You do realize you'd probably have far better luck in life if rather than wasting all your time on computers, you actually put some effort into your classes and outward appearance, and attempted to talk to the girls around you every day in real life."

"Pshh." Jake dismissed the notion completely, and turned to face forward as well- his grin disappearing. "I do enough to pass my classes, anything more is pointless. It's not like we're gonna use half this shit in the real world anyhow. And as far as talking to girls offline... well, not all of us are as lucky in that area as you."

"..."

"Speaking of which..." Jake turned his face back toward his friend, a mischievous grin returning to it as he changed the subject, "anniversary, huh? So how long have you two been married now?"

"Rose and I have been 'dating'," Matt took care to emphasize the word, "for six years now... since the first year of middle-school. And," Letting his face take expression, Matt smirked at his perpetually single compatriot. "we both know you're only making jabs because you're hopelessly jealous."

Turning away with a disgruntled blush, Jake ran a hand through his short, mouse-brown hair. "Heh... well, can't argue with you there. I mean, you went through half a semester before deciding being in middle school meant growing up and getting a girlfriend, and she just said 'okay'." With a laugh, and a giant grin, the gamer continued, "If it were that easy for all of us, no man would ever be lonely."

"And besides that... she's sort've incredible, too. I mean, she's friendly, intelligent- even if a little naive- absolutely gorgeous, and the fact you've been friends and known each other forever... a guy would be crazy not to be jealous."

"Careful now," feigning indigence, Mathew intoned ominously, "you'll only get yourself hurt falling for a friend's girlfriend."

"Ha! Right, no worries." Letting loose a sigh, Jake leaned back in his desk and turned toward the teacher that had just made her way into the room, then smiled: giving one last statement before the beginning of class. "Anybody who's met you two know there's no getting between that anyhow."