It was another (somewhat) early morning at the coffee shop where the spritely blonde manager returned the flash drive to Gon from over the counter. It had spent the night there, in her office where her name was marked on a plaque as "Bisky", and was now thoroughly reviewed.

"I don't see why not," she said, propping her hands on her hips.

Gon stared at her, speechless. It took a moment for him to realize that he needed to come up with a response— any response—to ensure her that he was still onboard.

"O-Oh, really?"

Fuck .

Bisky rose an eyebrow at him. "You don't seem all that excited."

Gon shook his head, waving his hands about wildly. "I-I am! Trust me, I really am. My brain just sort of imploded there. I'm—I'm glad you liked my work."

One of Bisky's coworkers asked for her assistance with some packages that were dropped off at the back door. Gon stepped back from the counter as Bisky said, "Take a seat somewhere—I'll be over in a bit to discuss scheduling."

The café itself was small and narrow, and seating was limited, but outside there were a few tables posted out on the sidewalk. He hesitated at the door, though, and glanced back at where Bisky rolled her sleeves up and heaved three boxes of syrup into the air like it was nothing. Gon's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Truth be told, he didn't know a single girl her size with guns like that , holy shit .

Gon recovered himself long enough to claim a seat out at one of the sidewalk tables. He studied the flashdrive he and Zushi had worked on before tucking it into the pocket of his plaid slacks.

When Bisky arrived, she was in the midst of tugging off her apron and folding it over her arm. She took a seat, crossed her legs, and propped an elbow up onto the table. "As you can see, we don't have that much space for equipment, but if you'll be bringing anything—speakers... microphones...—we can make it work."

"Oh, no, I'll just be doing acoustic," Gon confessed, waving his hands. "And I don't—I don't really sing much. I had a sample on there, but with the commotion in a coffee shop I don't know if that will add or detract from the aesthetic."

Bisky smiled at him and said, "You do have a lovely voice, but I agree. You get a pass this time, but one of these days I hope you can sing for us, Gon."

Before Gon could get too flustered, Bisky was on to the scheduling part of their meeting. Since Gon would simply be making commission off of tips from customers, Bisky suggested that he come during rush hour times—in the morning before class or around lunchtime. Gon factored it into his class schedule and decided that he could manage Wednesday mornings without a hitch.

So long as... he woke up on time...

Gon slapped on his brightest smile for class that day and, upon shimmying through the studio door, he caught eyes with Zushi and struck a pose.

Zushi gasped, throwing his hands down on the tabletop and startling Knuckle awake. "You got the gig!" Zushi said.

Gon broke into a little dance, buzzing with energy, and made his way over to their table. He dropped down, slinging his backpack to the ground beside him, as Zushi slapped his arm repeatedly. "She really liked it! I'm gonna be performing next Wednesday morning."

"Oh my God, we'll be there ," Zushi promised.

"We?" Knuckle said, groggy. "How early is it."

Zushi groaned as Gon smiled, propped his chin on his hand, and said, "It's pretty early. You guys don't have to come—the café's pretty puney anyways. And it's in the Design District, too."

Zushi shook his head, completely resolute. "Nope. Not too early for me! I'll be there—and you can count on it." No one had been this dedicated to Gon since his Aunt Mito and Grandma made a point to fly out to Gon's middle school summer camp in Wyoming for some theater performance. It made him flustered beyond belief, and it was all he could do to keep from blushing, batting a hand at Zushi, and saying, " Golly, you don't have to do that for little ol' me ," in a thick southern drawl.

Instead, Gon ducked his head and said, bashfully, "Thanks, Zushi," and giggled when Zushi gave him a shove on the shoulder.

Their professor walked in, but his entrance was immediately overshadowed by Killua walking in, unperturbed by the attention he drew from all corners of the room. Gon rolled his eyes as Zushi and Knuckle sighed dramatically. He scowled at his notebook as Killua passed them on his way to the back of the classroom.

Killua had woken up that morning to Gon already gone. He had left behind a container of food on Killua's shelf and stuck a post-it to it with Killua's name on it. Killua always had home-cooked meals back at his parents' place (in-house chefs were brilliant, in his opinion), but when he moved to Alluka's place, both Alluka and Canary were often too busy to cook. They rotated the responsibility, though Killua had an uncanny habit of burning things.

When he moved out at the age of seventeen, that all vanished. He hadn't had a home-cooked meal prepared for him in over a year.

It was... nice.

" It's only until you're feeling better! " the post-it note said, and he could read it in Gon's intentionally snobby voice, nose in the air, hands on his hips.

Killua had scoffed at it and stuck it back onto the container top. It was there when Killua extracted it from his bag as class started, and he could eat in peace at the very back of the classroom.

Their professor was an ancient geezer who refused to go by the formal "Professor Netero" that many professors ordered from their students. Instead, he went by Isaac and emphasized this on the first day of class and every day after when some poor soul tried to pull a "Professor Netero" on him. Perhaps it was because they all knew he was the programs director, but whatever the case, he didn't tend to act like an actual professor, anyway.

"Now I want all you kids to get out a sheet of paper—" Immediately students were asking one another if they had a piece of notebook paper to spare. "—and you're gonna write your name on it and pass it to the front."

Oh God , Killua groaned internally, reaching for a pen. He clicked it open on his shoulder and scribbled his name down. That bitch Retz was coming up to his row, acting like the teacher's pet she was by collecting the rows' stacks of nametags.

Killua held the slip out to her. She took it with a quick thanks, all while eyeing Killua's lunch. It was hard to miss the neon-green post-it note on the front. Not only that, but the guy was eating what appeared to be perfectly partitioned sections of food: seasoned brown rice, a salad, and homemade hummus.

I knew the guy was a hipster, but who the hell packs a salad for lunch? she thought, tapping the stack of names on her palm as she pranced down to the front of the classroom. She passed them to Isaac, who slapped them into an upside-down baseball cap and shook them about.

Retz went back to her seat and wondered, If he's not living in the dorms anymore, maybe that note was from a roommate? But roommates don't make food for each other—maybe a girlfriend?

Little did she know that the culprit was sitting directly in front of her, arms crossed, and still grumbling about Killua. What made Killua so special anyway? Anyone could bleach their hair! He's so rude and condescending, too , Gon thought, irritated. He felt all bothered, like when he went down to sleep only to be bombarded by a plethora of toxic thoughts.

His phone buzzed and Gon weaseled it out of his pocket. The class was distracted anyway due to Isaac laying out the names on the front table in stacks of three.

10:49 Hey I just wanted to see if you're still interested in going out again sometime?

10:49 I totally get it if it's weird, though. I don't really bring up my profession at all since it can kind of cause problems

10:49 It probably weeds out the weaklings though, right? :D

10:50 Yeah it does lol

10:50 What do you say?

10:50 I'd love to go out again! It doesn't bother me

10:50 Really?

10:51 Yeah why does that surprise you?

10:51 Cuz Killua says you're a prude

Gon's jaw dropped. He put his phone down and twisted around to glare at Killua, only to get caught halfway by Retz startling at his sudden movement. She rose an eyebrow at him, and Gon stumbled out an apology. He turned back around, internally screaming.

Isaac clapped so loud Gon thought his eardrums might fall out. "Alright, class! Here's what we're gonna do: In case you weren't watching, I've organized everyone into groups of threes. When I read off your name, I want you to stand and get together with your group. I don't care where , just don't bulldoze your classmates over, alright? Once that's all sorted I'll explain the project."

"I hate when he does this," Knuckle groaned, half-covering his face, as if that would avoid getting his name called.

"It's not that bad..." Zushi sighed. He clasped his hands together on his lap and said, "It increases my chances of being grouped up with Killua."

"That's the only good part," Knuckle said.

"You're hopeless, with a capital 'Hoe'," Gon said, and Knuckle cackled as Zushi gasped in horror.

By some stroke of luck, Zushi's name was called in tandem to Knuckle's. They both lunged to their feet and slapped their hands together in celebration before gathering their things to meet up with their other teammate. Zushi looked back at Gon with a sympathetic smile, gave him a thumbs up, and said, "Good luck!"

Gon waved farewell.

"Gon Freecss?" Isaac called. Gon stood up, heart leaping in his chest. Isaac looked down at the next piece of paper. "Killua Zoldyck."

"Fuck," Gon whispered, mortified. He couldn't even look back at Killua because he was rendered frozen by the look of absolute murder on Killua's face.

"Retz Nichols," Isaac said, as if this couldn't possibly get any worse.

Retz stood up and together, she and Gon turned around to look at Killua, who hadn't even bothered to stand. Retz looked back at Gon and said, "Well, here we go," and Gon sighed in agreement. They packed up their things and headed for the back of the classroom.

As he and Retz arrived at the walkway along the side of the classroom, Retz turned to him, put out her hand, and said, "Hey, don't know if you know or remember, but my name's Retz."

"Gon," he said. "New here."

She walked alongside him to the back of the class, smiling as she went, and even as they approached a thoroughly unimpressed Killua. "We meet again, old friend," Retz said.

"We aren't friends," Killua said through gritted teeth. Retz took the seat beside him as he said, "And I don't do group projects. If you two just lay low, I can take care of everything."

"But it's a group project," Gon said, and it prompted both of them to look up at him where he was standing near the entrance of the row. He blushed, scratched at his hair, and said, "I-I mean, we don't even know what the project entails yet. And I honestly really like group projects. I don't mind helping."

Retz clapped her hands and said, "Neither do I, so that settles it. You , Mr. Grumpy-Pants, can shove it. We're all working on the project—as much as I appreciate the freebie offer."

"Yeah, well, my GPA depends on you two not fucking up," Killua said.

When Gon stepped closer with every intent on claiming the seat on Killua's other side, Killua pushed his chair back and stuck his foot out to block the path. He crossed his feet at the ankles on the tabletop as Gon rolled his eyes and took the seat beside Retz.

Their professor called everyone's attention back to the front of the room, and when Gon looked, he was startled by the number of people staring at them from over their shoulders. Gon swallowed hard and looked hesitantly to Retz, who sighed.

She leant over to him and whispered, "They're all jealous."

"Why?" Gon said, and Retz stared at him like he was growing a second head.

She didn't have the chance to respond because Isaac was back to the topic at hand: the group project. They would be conducting a research paper on a topic of their choosing—as long as it was on the list that Isaac was now passing around.

When the paper approached their group, a girl passed it over and said, "We picked number thirteen, but if you guys want that topic instead we're welcome to switch!"

"Oh, that's nice," Gon said, taking the paper.

"They're trying to smooze up to Zoldyck," Retz said, and Killua scoffed, snatching the paper from Gon's extended hand. Gon stared at the both of them until Retz said, "It's always like this."

"I don't need hand outs," Killua said.

Retz turned to him and asked, "So is it true that your parents died?"

Gon gasped, a hand over his mouth. "Oh, no, that's so dreadful," he said.

Killua slapped the paper down and glared at them both. " No , my parents aren't dead . Where the hell did you get that idea?"

Retz shrugged. "Just a rumor going around."

Killua rolled his eyes and went back to the paper. He studied the topics that were left behind by the other groups and, after a moment, he landed on the fifth option. Retz and Gon leant over.

"'Classic music in contemporary film'," Gon said. He hummed, satisfied. "I like that idea."

"Okay. I'm guessing we'll have to watch a few contemporary films with classical music in them, then," Retz said. "Who's place are we going to? I have a roommate, so my dorm is off limits."

Clearly, Killua hadn't considered that.

"We don't have to watch it together," Killua said.

"We need to discuss it when it's fresh in our brains," Retz insisted. "Don't you have an apartment?"

Killua laughed, hollow and fake. "Right, yeah, we aren't doing this at my place. Let's just change our topic. Bards in medieval ages sounds fun."

"Aw, but I love movies," Gon whined.

"Let's do it at your place then," Retz suggested, and Gon was thrilled by the idea of hosting a movie night.

"Yeah!" Gon said, gasping, only to stop when Killua stared at him from over Retz' shoulder with a 'what-the-actual-fuck' gesture. "E-Except I... don't have a TV..."

Killua slapped his hand over his forehead.

"That's okay, we can just borrow a projector," Retz said, and Gon couldn't say no to that face. What he could say no to, however, was the look on Killua's face. "Do you have roommates?"

"Uh, no, I live alone," Gon said.

Retz clapped her hands together. "Then that's perfect! We'll watch the movies at your place this weekend. Here, I'll give you my number and we can start a group chat, get it all sorted out."

Gon stumbled over his words as Retz jotted her number down on a piece of paper in her notebook, tore the corner off, and handed it to Gon. She did the same for Killua, who gave her a plastic smile until she turned away, at which point, Killua propped his elbow up on the back of his chair, leant into Gon's view, and glared at him.

Gon shrunk in his chair, shoulders, up, and tried his best to ignore the very serious consequences of this conversation with Retz, otherwise known as the major's most prolific and boundary-breaking journalist the likes of which Nellie Bly would never compare.

Shortly after class ended, Gon left the classroom alongside Retz. She waved farewell to him out in the hallway and, after a second, offered the same to Killua, who slowed beside Gon out in the hallway. Killua stared blankly at her until she left, at which point, Killua turned the full intensity of his glare onto Gon.

Gon flinched. He looked at the ground and said, "I know it's not ideal, but—"

"I'm not talking to you about this right now," Killua said. "I work tonight."

Gon blinked dumbly at the nonchalant comment. "Wha—But aren't you—?"

Killua stepped closer to avoid speaking up, so that Gon and only Gon could hear him hiss, " Don't bring it up. I'm fine."

At that moment, Zushi and Knuckle emerged from the classroom. Gon gasped in excitement—freedom! At long last!—but he had one thing to take care of before escaping Killua's furious clutches.

He turned back to Killua with a graceful smile and said, "Everything will be fine with the project, trust me. And as for work—I don't think you should go. I'll talk to you later! Bye!" With that, he bounded off, leaving Killua fuming in his wake.

Zushi and Knuckle were halfway to the building exit by the time Gon caught up with them. Gon slipped between them, threw his arms around their shoulders, and said, "Hey! What're you guys doing for your project?"

Zushi let out a startled, almost haughty laugh and said, " Our project? Dude, you're in a group with Zoldyck ."

Gon shrugged. "So? Also, that has nothing to do with... me asking about your project..."

"He's jealous," Knuckle explained in a half-whisper to Gon, who then dropped his arms from their shoulders.

Zushi let out an annoyed groan, threw his hands down, and said, "Yeah, well, so are you! We spend a whole semester with the guy and Gon swoops in and manages to land himself in a group with Killua!"

"What? I don't understand—he's just a person," Gon said. He glanced nervously over his shoulder, but thankfully, Killua was long gone by then.

"The hottest person alive ," Zushi whined, stomping his foot.

"I don't think so!" Gon said, and maybe part of that was true. For the most part, though, he was blinded by his annoyance for Killua. Maybe— just maybe —if they weren't roommates, Gon could swoon from afar the way Zushi and Knuckle did.

He was too close for comfort, though.

Zushi blinked at him, startled. He glanced at Knuckle, who scratched the side of his head and said, "You... don't think he's hot... Bro, I thought you were gay?"

Gon groaned. "I am , but not for him! Trust me! What's this all about? It's a group project!"

"It's a gateway to a relationship , is what it is," Zushi said. He crossed his arms, furiously. After a moment he turned a bashful eye onto Gon and said, "So... you don't like him?"

Gon shook his head, eyes wide with horror. Was he really going to lose his first university friends over a group project with the resident hottie? How fickle were these people?

"Of course not! And I have another date with Kurapika soon anyway, so—"

Zushi let out a relieved sigh and said, "Oh thank God."

Gon let out a nervous laugh and said, "Were you really just gonna drop me over some random anime-looking dude?"

"Nah, nah, nah— not just some 'random anime-looking dude'," Knuckle corrected. "Some random bisexual anime-looking dude."

Gon rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, pardon me. How could I ever."