Alex Rider: Trouble Never Stops

Move-In Day

Alex tried to say no, he really did, but the stubborn SAS men insisted. So now, instead of a nice, relaxing drive with Jack, he was stuck with a car packed with 4 large men and 1 women, pulling a small trailer behind them. They were driving to Kingston and Chelsea college (AN: I just googled 'colleges in London, England'), where Alex was going to spend, hopefully, most of the next 4 years of his life.

To a lot of his teachers surprise, Alex graduated Brookland with Tom and the rest of their class. Of course, he was still occasionally absent, but MI6 easily set him up with a private tutor, and the tutor worked with the school to get work he missed, and Alex quickly caught up every time. At the start of his last year, he insisted to Mrs Jones that he go to college and get a normal degree, even if they wanted him to work with them full time after he graduated. 

She took him up on that offer. They also agreed that during breaks, he would be free to go on missions if they needed him, with a promise he'd always be back in time for school. He also agreed he'd work full time in the summer. And that meant SAS training. So, this past summer, he was put back with his old unit, K unit. They were surprised, but welcomed him back. After  seeing how well he did on his assessments, of course. They all got close over the summer, and when the men learned their Cub was going to college, they insisted on coming to help him move in.

They pulled up to the dorm building Alex was assigned to be in, and K-unit immediately opened the trailer and grabbed the heaviest box or appliance that they could find. Jack and Alex rolled their eyes at the big tough military men, and grabbed what was left themselves.

Dave (Alex's Roommate) POV.

Dave was putting the last few things in his dresser around noon. He got to the college around 10, and his parents left about a half an hour ago. He didn't really mind. All he was waiting for was his roommate, Alex.

He called the number attached to the name on the email once, and he didn't know what to think. He was surprised to hear he lived with his "guardian, Jack. She's a girl, though.", as Alex told him. He wanted to ask him what happened to his parents want a deep, loud voice yelled "Cub, time...shooting....". That was all Dave understood. Shooting? Was an Uncle or something taking him to a shooting range? He never got the chance to ask.

He called again a couple weeks later, but it went to voicemail.

Dave's thoughts were interrupted by the door being slammed open.

A large man carrying a large box came in and set it down

"Told you I could do it, Wolf!" he yelled into the hall

"Whop de do, Eagle, you carried a box" another man said sarcastically from behind a mini-fridge as he entered.

As Dave stood there confused, 2 more large men came in, each carrying something.

They were followed by a teenage boy and a red-haired woman, who Dave assumed where Alex and Jack.

"You must be David" the man, apparently called Wolf, said to him

"Ya, and you're Wolf?" he asked hesently.

The man grunted in response.

"Wolf, please don't scare my roommate before we even meet." Alex said from the entrance, carrying just a backpack and a suitcase.

"Don't mind them, they just don't know how to make a first impression" Alex said, walking forward. "Nice to meet you, Dave. This is My uncle Ben, or Fox, who's in the military. The others are Wolf, Eagle, and Snake, his unit, code names, of course. They insisted on 'helping'". Alex said, putting finger quotes around the last word. 

"How could we not come? Cub is going to college!" Eagle said, enthusiastically.

"Oh, and as their honorary nephew, they call me Cub." Alex said, rolling his eyes.

"Nice to meet you all." Dave said, still in a bit of a shock.

"Alright, now that you all proved you can bring a heavy box up a flight of stairs, are you going to be leaving?" Alex asked

"Right after I see your meds." the man called Snake said.

"Right here, Snake. Morning pills and Night pills" Alex said, pulling 2 pill bottles out of his bag

He turned back to me "he's the medic, and my personal nurse"

"You got all your...custom...stuff...right?" Fox asked.

"Of course, Ben, i'll be fine. I'll call Jones if I...need anything."

"All right, you can call me too" Ben said as he left

"See ya kid. Dont be stupid." Wolf called

"Don't be stupid either, Wolf!" Alex called after the man as he left, followed by Eagle.

Now the 2 boys and Jack were the only ones left.

"As Wolf said, don't be stupid, and...stay safe" the women said, as she pulled Alex into a hug.

"You too."

Feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, Dave went over to his small desk and awkwardly adjusted some things.

 He heard Jack leave, and now it was just Dave and Alex.

"So ya, that's what I deal with at home..." Alex said with a chuckle.

"They seen...nice...enough."

"Ya, well, they can be a bit...overprotective. They think I'm always getting myself into trouble"

"It's a little past noon, wanna go get lunch?", Dave asked after a pause

"Na, i'm gonna start to unpack, I'll eat in a bit. Meet you in the dining hall?"

"Sure. I'll see you in a bit then?"

"Yep"

So Dave left his roommate to his privacy, and headed to get lunch. There was something...different about Alex. Dave could already tell it would take a while, maybe the whole year, to figure him out.