This is my first multi-chaptered Niff fic. I've been wanting to write one for a while, and this idea wouldn't leave me alone, so... Let me know what you think so far? :)

I don't own any characters or anything.

Another day. Same boring routine.

Wake up. Put on the same blazer. Go to the same classes. Go to Warblers practice. Do homework. Sleep. That's all every day seemed to be lately. It's not like Jeff expected today to be any different. He was currently in the process of doing his hair, making sure it looked as nice and perfect as possible like it did every day. Jeff had to at least appear like he was well put together, even though his close friends knew better.

Jeffrey Sterling used to be the spirit of the school. The one whose smile would always light up a room and could cheer most anybody up. He also used to be in love with "the most perfect and beautiful girl ever", as he would say. They were perfect for each other, everybody thought so. Jeff really thought he'd found the love of his life. But then the accident happened and now she's gone and Jeff blames himself and nothing is the same, not really. Jeff isn't the same ball of energy anymore with tons of friends around. He's isolated himself - save for Blaine, his best friend, who still tries to get him involved with everyone and everything- and just doesn't feel good enough anymore. He doesn't feel worth anyone's time.

Grabbing his books for his first few classes, Jeff made his way out of his single room - yes, he'd somehow managed to not get a roommate, which he figured was probably better for everyone - and down to his first class; math. Honestly, math shouldn't be allowed to be taught at 7:30am - whose brain was even fully awake that early?- especially on a Monday morning like this, where he'd hardly gotten any sleep the night before.

Jeff held his books with one arm while he rubbed at his eyes with the other, trying to wake himself up more. He probably should spend less time on his hair in the mornings and more on actually trying to wake up or getting coffee or something. He knew he didn't always have his priorities straight, but Jeff couldn't bring himself to care.

The blond rounded a corner, not fully watching where he was going, and the next thing he knew his books were on the ground along with someone else's.

"Oh! I'm sorry about that, I didn't see you there," an unfamiliar voice said.

Yeah, it's not the first time I've heard that, Jeff thought, bending down to pick up some books. "It's alright, it was my fault anyway, sorry." His voice came out soft, almost timid sounding.

The other boy bent down to help Jeff gather up the books. "No, really," he insisted. "I'm new here, I don't really know where anything is." He stood back up holding half of the books. "I'm Nick."

Jeff stood up as well, finally glancing up to see the boy standing in front of him. He forced a small smile. "Jeff." The blond looked over the books he was holding. "Oh, I think this one is yours... I must've grabbed it by mistake." Jeff held out a World History book to Nick.

"Thanks," Nick smiled, taking the book. "That would probably explain why I'm holding two chemistry books." The brunet handed the book over to Jeff with a soft laugh. He looked Jeff over for a few seconds, noticing how reserved the boy seemed to be. "I don't mean to interrupt whatever you were doing, but you're the first student I've actually spoken to since I got here. Would you mind maybe showing me around a bit so I don't run into anybody else while trying to figure out this schedule?"

Taking the book, Jeff looked up at Nick. The smile on the other boy's face was... nice. It was different to have somebody smile at him without one trace of pity behind it. This boy was new, which meant he didn't know about Jeff or his past. Nick was simply being nice because Jeff figured that's just how he was. The blond's smile grew a little and he nodded. "Yeah, sure. Let me see your schedule..." Jeff carefully took the paper from Nick, looking it over. "Well... looks like we have math, chemistry, and gym together."

Nick couldn't help but to smile more at Jeff's words, feeling a little more relieved that he would have somebody he somewhat knew in half of his classes. "Great! And math's our first class, right?" He leaned closer to Jeff, looking at his paper.

"Uhh... yeah," Jeff nodded, trying to ignore how close Nick was standing to him. He wasn't used to having people close like this. Hell, even Blaine knew Jeff liked his personal space. "Have you figured out where your room is yet?"

"No, not really... I just came from the office when I bumped into you. They circled the room on the map on the other side though?" Nick offered, taking the paper from Jeff to unfold it and turn it over.

Their fingers brushed and Jeff tried to ignore how it felt. He didn't receive personal contact much anymore. Not since his ex - Sarah - died, anyway. Jeff looked down at the paper and smiled a little when he saw where Nick's room was. "Well... looks like I have a new roommate." He wasn't sure how he felt about this, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad since Nick was new and didn't know how horrible of a person Jeff was. Maybe he wouldn't get treated any differently, like what most everyone else around Dalton seemed to do just because of what happened.

Nick's face practically lit up at Jeff's words. "Really? Awesome! I mean, it's just kind of a relief since you're the only person I know so far, so..." He shrugged lightly, laughing a little nervously. "My stuff won't be here until after classes are over with, maybe you could show me where our room is then?"

Jeff nodded before frowning a few seconds later. "Oh, right, I have Warblers practice after gym..."

"Warblers?" Nick questioned, furrowing his brows. "What's that?"

"Our acapella group. It's pretty great. You should check it out if you sing."

The brunet thought about it for a few seconds before giving a small smile. "Maybe... I'll think about it. If I don't go, I'm sure I could find our room on my own." Nick took the paper back from Jeff, folding it and stuffing it inside one of his books. Now that he had Jeff with him, he wouldn't need to look at it every five seconds to figure out where he was going. At least not until after math, anyway.

Jeff nodded, glancing up at the clock on the wall. "We should probably go... If we don't leave now, we'll be late. Mrs. Thompson doesn't deal well with people being late." He rolled his eyes, causing Nick to laugh.

"Good to know. I'd rather stay off all of my teachers bad sides." Nick walked alongside Jeff as they headed down the hall. He glanced over at the blond after a minute of silence. "Thanks, Jeff."

Jeff looked over at the other boy, a small smile tugging at his lips. "For what?"

Nick shrugged. "Everything? I mean, I had heard that Dalton would be nice. That the people were nicer... And meeting you has seemed to only prove that. So thanks for that. And for being okay with showing me around."

"Oh, well... you're welcome, I guess. I'm glad you're liking things already." Jeff liked that it seemed easy to talk to Nick. Originally, he was just going to show Nick around and not bother with him after that, figuring that he could surely find better people to associate with. But since Nick was his roommate, he knew they'd have to be able to get along. Staying friendly with the new kid wasn't a bad thing... right? Jeff knew he wouldn't be able to let Nick get too close. He was damaged goods. Broken. He didn't deserve a nice friend like Nick, it was the same reason he'd pushed everyone else away. Sure Jeff would be nice to him, but he didn't expect much else to happen.

The two of them headed off to math class, Nick asking whatever questions he could think of on the way. Mostly just to get Jeff to talk, but also because he was curious about things. Surprisingly enough, Jeff didn't mind it. He was happy to help, to do something good for a change. It felt... nice. Jeff decided that maybe, just maybe, being around Nick wouldn't be so bad.