A/N I have absolutely no excuse for how late this chapter is...I am shamelessly blaming Belles! She did it!...Anywhoo, Thank you for all the reviews! I am so happy you all like this story so far, I promise there is SO much more to come! So, please keep reviewing, they make me want to write faster, and enjoy this chapter :D ~ PY

B/N BetaBelles: Hullo, truly lovely people! For those of you who have stuck it out from the beginning, I (by proxy of PV, because she does really love me and won't hurt me for being four months late on a beta job) humbly thank you. This chapter is short and more a filler chapter but there will be more awesomeness to come. Think slow build, you naughty naughties!

Chapter 4

The Instructor's lounge was one of Harvey's favorite places to waste time. Why? Put in the simplest terms, because free coffee and a moment to breathe were priceless when one's entire life seemed to play itself out right in front of one's eyes. Looking back, even when he was a child, Harvey knew he would end up here in the great halls of Harvard School of Law. It had practically been planned from birth; being that his father had been one of the best New York had ever seen and would ever see until Harvey himself seated himself at one of the most prestigious law firms NYC had to offer. It was only natural that they expected their oldest to follow in his father's footsteps, and that's exactly what he did.

Harvey had studied his ass off in high school just to apply to one school. Harvard. It was the only application he sent in; there was no plan B school, no backup plan. If Harvard didn't want him then he obviously didn't deserve it. His interview was a piece of cake.

He'd walked in, dressed to the nines in a gorgeous Armani suit that'd cost him half a year's salary, that paired with his irresistible Specter charm and as they say, the rest was history. He was in after just a twenty minute interview (ten of which he spent getting the secretary's number). That had been the real start of everything for him.

His freshman year it took him a solid minute and a half to get adjusted to college life and his classes; the pace had definitely changed from high school and his life back home. Luckily, having Donna made the adjustment less a pain in the ass... and more of a pain in the ass while being shit faced surrounded by beautiful college girls. Every guys dream.

Two months before the end of his first semester is when he took control and let everyone know just what a Specter can do. No one knew the law like Harvey. No one. Natural talent combined with good looks and grade A charm put him in the perfect position to run the campus without really trying. The professors admired his natural ability to think his way out of any legal debacle, while his fellow students both envied and respected him.

He wasn't stupid, of course. He knew that he'd made enemies of certain fellow students, those who hadn't stood at attention and recognized who he was and more importantly, what he could do. Those who'd tried to cow him into taking the lesser role to their senior or junior status had had their proverbial asses handed to them in no less than half a second's time. In short, he knew that there were those who called him the Royal Douche, Harvard's Dickfuck and Jessica's Errand Boy, with plenty of variations in between.

Did he care? Hell no.

He worked for it, hell, he deserved it. Name calling was juvenile at best and equated to nothing but fear, and fear was the highest form of respect. Respect was key in the game of life.

Dear old dad made that clear, Harvey mused as sipped relatively decent coffee from his travel carafe. The bitter brew was sweetened only slightly by half a teaspoon of sugar. It more than made up for the catastrophe of a morning thus far.

"HEY!" Harvey jumped half a mile in the air.

"What the fuck, Donna!?"

"Uh, where the hell have you been? Lala land? Have you heard nothing I've been saying to you?" The woman scoffed and draped a cotton dishcloth over the front of her silk blouse before chancing to sip delicately at the espresso clasped in a manicured hand. The potent drink teased Harvey's senses with promises of vitality and energy but he had to resist. He'd already had two this morning and the clock hadn't even struck ten o'clock yet.

"Honestly? Yeah. And I'll have you know they have great scotch there; they even offered to make me their king, but of course I told them my schedule wouldn't allow it."

"Hardy har har... I swear, Harvey." Donna continued to nurse her cup of caffeinated heaven. "I was talking about the Bar defiler who very nearly flattened you not thirty minutes ago or have you forgotten already?"

Harvey grimaced, gesturing vaguely towards his abused suit trousers and posterior. "I wish I could forget." His ass still hurt.

"I'm sure." Donna's expression clearly conveyed absolutely zero sympathy. "Anywhoo, I was trying to tell you that he has two classes with you. I know what you're thinkin, 'why the hell is she telling me this like I care?' Well, my ever conceited friend, I am telling you this because he quite obviously has to be a genius to have tested out of all the pre-req's and be taking the class as a freshman. More to the point, if you don't watch out you may have some competition..."

There were many things about Donna that Harvey found unnerving: the way she brushed her teeth (across instead of up and down; it literally gave him chills), how she chewed on gummy worms, and even the fact that she slept in socks, but the one that takes the cake is how she gets this glint in her eye when she knows something you don't and she. Will. Not. Tell.

"...Donna?"

"Hm?"

"Don't you hmm me, woman! You're up to something. I don't like that look."

"I have no earthly idea to what you are referring to."

"Oh, I'm sure you don't. Just like you didn't know what I was talking about when that crazy bitch from the bar was stalking my apartment." Harvey still checked regularly, slotting his blinds to scan for that beat-up five-speed lurking under the only working street lamp on his street.

"Hey! She was in a very emotionally and spiritually turbulent time in her life. Plus, she explicitly said it wasn't stalking, just making sure you were breathing and eating right four to twelve times a day depending on her schedule and if her dad let her have to truck that night."

"...I hate you."

"Oh, I know you do. You're welcome." Donna drained her cup and placed it in the sink.

"If he really hated you, Donna, he wouldn't be having this conversation."

Both Harvey and Donna turned to find the one, the only Jessica Pearson standing directly behind them. "As true as that is, it was unnecessary, she always wins." One pristine winged eyebrow was arched in subtle amusement.

"Well, Mr. Specter that might be a problem considering it's your ability to win and always win that the law firms that will be hiring you, when you graduate, are looking for." Never allow the statement that Dean Pearson did not know how and where to hit were it hurt most to pass another's lips.

Donna's smirk was a mile wide. An expression Harvey very much resented; yeah, he could get on with a little humor at someone else's expense, but when it was him, that shit wasn't cool. "Don't worry, it's only me he loses to. You know, 'cause I'm the always-awesome Donna."

"Well, 'always-awesome' Donna, would you mind if I spoke to Mr. Specter for a moment?" The Dean's marble face revealed nothing but Harvey wasn't willing to bet that this conversation was going to be one that he would enjoy.

"Not at all, Dean Pearson. Be gentle, he can be kinda fragile, gotta use those hypoallergenic soaps and all." Smile in place, and with a quick glance at Harvey, Donna grabbed her purse and coat and left... Harvey... all alone. Jessica Pearson was not one to pussy foot around. Step one of the infamous Pearson beast, seclude prey...

There was a moment of pause, a stretch in time that shouldn't terrify Harvey on some level that was buried deep and would never see the light of day. Pearson didn't allow him to wallow in his hidden anxiety for too long, instead choosing to move across the lounge and seat herself in a wingback chair. She took a moment to smooth her already immaculate skirt and then settled herself to stare at Harvey with an intensity rivaled by few. "As I am sure you know, Mr. Specter, your future has everything, all your aspirations and interests, riding on the outcome of this year. The firms, the truly talented practices who would do things of questionable legality to have you, get serious about hiring potential lawyers around the start of senior year and follow through up until graduation. They want to be impressed every step of the way.

"And I have no doubt they will be utterly impressed with what you have done here these last few years. Which is why I am going to give you this small amount of advice: do not fuck up. All of your past indiscretions and fuck ups have been minor enough to not pop up on radar, or they just didn't matter, however the smallest of things can ruin everything we have worked for. Stay off out of trouble and keep your nose clean, become a hermit if that will get you through the next ten months, I really don't care."

Harvey had to give himself credit, he took that lecture like a boss - didn't try to interrupt, didn't storm out of the room like a child, didn't tell her to fuck off or ride a dick (the last one was mostly out of respect for all she had done for him, but there were definitely times he thought about it.) No, instead he sat there calmly and actually listened to the shit she was giving him.

"I hear you loud and clear. Don't fuck up. Don't lose it. Don't breathe. Don't smoke pot. Don't eat spicy foods 'cause it will set your asshole on fire. Check. Check. And checkity check." Harvey moved to make way for the door. He had taken his lumps like a good little student and was more than ready to leave.

The Dean's sigh truly was put-upon. "Harvey, this is no joke. This is your life and career we are talking about. I suggest you get your shit together and act like the Harvard School of Law graduate you are soon to be." She didn't bother waiting for a reply, just gracefully swooping out of her seat and walked out of the room leaving Harvey to stare at the door she left through for a good couple of minutes (entirely for the purpose of restraining his indignation) before he said fuck it and left to find Donna. She'd more than likely have a delightfully interesting monologue pertaining to the harangue he'd just endured.

Get his shit together, indeed. Good thing there was a good Thai place on campus.