Chapter Text
Will’s dorm was a mess. It had only been a month into the school year and it was already trashed. The problem was that he wasn’t throwing things away when he was done with them, and didn’t pick up at the end of the day like he told himself he would. Not to mention he was also taking five classes at once to graduate early. He really didn’t have to because he took so many college courses in his sophomore and junior years, then did partial dual enrollment his senior year.
Will dropped his bag in the doorway and sighed. His roommate would probably complain at some point if he didn’t pick this up. So, he started to clean for the first time in a month. Empty, probably molding, take-out boxes; containers of stolen food from the cafeteria; his pajamas he should probably wash, considering he had night sweats; the fork he just keeps rewashing instead of taking out another; and—oh, a flyer. For Psi Kappa, a professional fraternity for psychology majors and related fields.
Hmm. Would look good on a resume, wouldn’t it? I mean, it was in line with his academic goals; he was a psych major with a minor in criminology. The first meeting for prospects was in a week, at a bowling alley. Will was not one for bowling or social events. But the networking he could do… his resume… Will thought about it.
“Fine.” He whispered to himself. Plus, when he looked up the fraternity later, he found that they had a lot of great events for learning opportunities and meeting people already established in the field. If his goal was to get a doctorate in criminology—which, of course, it was—this would help.
===
The fall brought a breeze, and it rushed past Will as he stared at the entrance to the bowling alley, not quite sure if he was actually going to follow through on this. Based on the amount of cars and people who took the same route as him off the bus, there were quite a few prospects.
But they’re like-minded people, he assumed—hoped. This is a professional fraternity; He’s not going to have to meet alcoholics and men who think getting women is the peak of masculinity.
He sighed. He already got this far, didn’t he? Might as well see if it’s worth it. He walked inside, and—”You’ve gotta be kidding me,” he whispered, looking at the crowd. “That motherfucker.” As if he heard Will, Hannibal turned around. He waved at him with that smug smile Will always wanted to slap right off of him. Will paid for his shoes and walked up to him.
“Lecter.” He said, with barely disguised disgust. “Here, I thought you were going to be pre-med. Isn’t that what you said in your valedictorian speech?”
Hannibal smiled wider. Before he spoke, the girl he was speaking to—clearly flirting with him, to Will’s disgust—cut in. “Valdictorian? I didn’t know you were that smart.” Hannibal’s smile seemed to fade. Will may not have been looking in his eyes—never had, never will—but he could tell he was not into her. Honestly, he might’ve been annoyed.
“Psychiatry, Will,” Hannibal responded, ignoring the girl. “But as of right now, I’m getting my bachelor’s in psychology. Are you doing criminology, as you said in your valedictorian speech?”
“Did you guys go to the same high school?” The girl asked, not quite getting that she was no longer part of the conversation.
“Psychology major, criminology minor.” Will stated.
“I see.” Hannibal said, smiling. He turned to girl. “Will and I attended Eastwood Academy, a private school in Baltimore. We both tied as valedictorian.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you could do that.” She said.
“Well, you know,” Will responded, looking past her at the scoreboard. “It was a private school. Kind of have different rules.”
“So you two must be rich, y’know, private school and all,” She joked, although, Will saw it as an attempt to see if Hannibal had money.
“I got in on scholarship.” Will said. Maybe he was trying to get her to go away. As if Hannibal needed more suitors. He was already attractive enough with his stupid accent and his suits and, god, that awful smile. He didn’t need to flaunt his wealth too.
Hannibal gave him an unreadable look. Mostly unreadable in that Will refused to read it. He wasn’t curious about Hannibal in the slightest, that’s what he told himself. He wasn’t jealous either. Not for his looks, his ability to charm, his money, his titles in foreign countries, the way girls looked at him—no. No, Will wasn’t jealous.
“Claire and I were going to start a game,” Hannibal said, gesturing at the lane in front of them. “You should join us.” Claire’s smile dropped.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude on anything—” Will started.
“Nonsense, Will, we’d love to have another player. Besides, I haven’t seen your bowling skills before.”
Will chuckled. “I don’t think you want to see my bowling skills, Lecter.”
“It’s fine if it’s just us two, Hannibal.” The girl said, desperate to get Hannibal alone. “I don’t think Will wants to play with just us anyway, there’s so many people to meet.” She had a point. He was here for networking and getting close to the already established members, not spend the whole time with his rival from high school. Whom he doesn’t even like for that matter.
“Would you, Will? For old time’s sake?” Hannibal had his charm on, dammit. Why was he so adamant? Did he just want to beat Will at something?
Will laughed again. “It really hasn’t been that long since we’ve seen each other.”
“Humor me.” Hannibal said. It was clear to Will that this wasn’t a negotiation. He would get a game with Will at some point that night.
Will looked around the room, hoping for something to save him. Claire gave him a look he didn’t meet, a deterrent. He wasn’t going to listen to her. “Sure,” Will said with a clearly fake cheeriness. “Why not?”
Claire looked defeated. “Y’know what? I actually am going to play with some of my other friends. I’ll leave you two to it.”
Hannibal seemed unaffected by her departure and fake excuse. He flashed Will that smug smile again. “I must warn you, Will, I played competitively in Italy when I was in middle school.”
“You went to middle school in Italy?” Will asked incredulously.
===
Hannibal won by a landslide. “I had fun, Will,” He said, content. “Did you have fun?”
“Yep,” Will said, tight-lipped. He was a little irritated that Hannibal got him in a game just to win. He knew he’d win, he just wanted to humiliate Will, didn’t he? “I should get going.”
“Already? It’s only nine.” Hannibal said, smile gone. “Don’t you want to play with more people? Get to know some of these prospects? They may be your fraternity brothers soon.” Why did Hannibal want him to stay? Wouldn’t it be easier to get rid of some of the competition? Anyway, Will was tired. He didn’t like to stay up late.
“Sorry, Lecter, I have a bedtime.” He said. He returned his shoes and walked out of the building. It was only when he got on the bus that he realized he had left his jacket. “Shit.” He whispered to himself. Eh, it was too late now.