Greetings, fellow NBB fans! This is a story I started a while back and, recently, picked back up and decided to edit. The plot of the story is mainly to recreate how the Naked Brothers Band came to be. I thought it'd be a fun project and, besides, who doesn't love AU fanfics with boarding schools involved? Don't worry. It won't be as cliche as it sounds. ;) Anyway, if you've somehow stumbled upon this story, I appreciate you for deciding to read it! I hope you enjoy it! Without further ado, here's chapter one! :D

Chapter One

Of Arrivals and Roommates

Nat Wolff stared out the window of his dad's black, Ford mini van, watching the city rush by him in a blur. It had been a long drive, but his family had finally made it to Brooklyn. The fact that he and his brother, Alex, would be living here for the next few years was mind-blowing, but he forced himself to remain solemn, for there was no point in hurting his father's feelings. They would be gone for a long time. No need to rub it in.

"Are you guys sure this is what you want to do?" asked Sonny Wolff from his spot in the driver's seat. They were at a stop light - the third of many before they reached Brooklyn Arts Academy, a boarding school for the musically gifted.

After Nat had been accepted into BAA, the school of his dreams, Alex had been offered a scholarship from the exact same school, even though he was still in seventh grade and Brooklyn Arts was known only for its talented high schoolers.

"Why only have one Wolff brother when there are two?" someone from the school board had asked when Alex had called them to make sure it wasn't a mistake. "Who cares if you're too young? This school is looking for the best of the best. And you, my friend, are the best."

Alex had been flattered, really, but he knew better than anyone that this school wasn't looking for the "best," it was looking for publicity. And what better way to get that than by having both Wolff brothers attend school at the same time? Even their teachers would swoon over them.

Of course, Alex had decided to take the scholarship, because it was either that or become a solo act (of course, he could always accept his dad's offer and join he and Betty's accordion band). Neither one sounded like a great idea, though, and, besides, it would be nice to start a new adventure with Nat in Brooklyn. They were the inseparable Wolff brothers, it had always been that way.

However, that only made leaving their father behind even harder and leaving Betty behind a whole lot easier. They had never really liked Sonny's girlfriend, but they were happy if he was happy, so they hadn't mentioned it, especially not when they were about to leave him for several years, only to return for holidays and other important occasions. Betty would be the only one left to keep him company, the only one to talk, whine, and eat nonstop (not that she'd ever had a problem doing any of those things before). But it wouldn't be the same. He had lost his wife and now both of his sons. Nat felt a pang of guilt just thinking about it.

"We're sure, Dad," Alex finally responded when Nat didn't. "At least you still have Lucky while we're gone. And we'll see you on holidays!"

Lucky had been the family pet for only about a year now, but he was sweet, quiet, and never made messes, the polar opposite of Betty. In fact, while Betty stayed home supposedly to "hold down the fort" (which really meant she was munching on popcorn while purchasing every movie HBO had to offer), Lucky had been kind enough to tag along on this road trip. Nat knew he'd be a big help on the long drive Sonny would have to take home.

"Do you have everything?" Sonny questioned, glancing at his children in the rear view mirror. "Should we stop and buy some more snacks for your rooms? The kitchen won't always be open, you know."

"We know, Dad." Nat offered him a reassuring smile. "We have everything we need."

"But don't you want to bring my accordion, too? I mean, this is a music school."

The brothers exchanged a look. "But," Alex began, "that's your most prized possession. Why would you give it to us?"

His expression was one of love, not sorrow. "Because you're my sons and you need something to remember me by."

"Dad, we could never forget you," Nat said, leaning forward to give his father a pat on the shoulder. "Keep your accordion. Think of us when you play."

He tried not to notice the tears welling up in Sonny's eyes right then, but it was hard to miss. "I will, Nat. Every time."

It didn't take them long to reach BAA or Powell Hall, the dorm that both boys would be staying in. Alex had requested that they didn't share a room, for they had been doing so for the entire twelve years he'd been alive. "I just need some space, bro," he had said when bringing it up to Nat. "It's nothing personal or anything."

So, after saying a long, sad goodbye to his dad and making sure Alex made it to his room all right, Nat headed up to the third floor of the dorm, where he finally stumbled into room 308. It was well lit, with a bunk bed to one side of the room and a couple desks, one located across from the bed and the other just in front of an open window on the far side of the space. It was a lot larger than Nat had imagined, but, then again, that could have had something to do with the fact he was famous.

He took several steps forward, only to find himself falling face-first onto the floor, his bags escaping his grasp.

Hitting the ground with a thud, Nat found himself less concerned about the fact his lip was bleeding and more concerned about the fact that the gong-like clang he'd just heard was his guitar colliding with the hardwood floor somewhere across the room.

"E.T!" someone shouted suddenly and Nat just knew his first five seconds here couldn't get any weirder.

He looked up to see a scrawny boy with blond hair rushing over to him after setting something down on one of the beds. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Nat mumbled, pressing a finger to his lip. Yep, it was definitely bleeding. "What happe-"

"You can't tell anyone!" The other boy's blue eyes were wide as he stared down at the wounded Wolff brother. "She's not supposed to be here!"

"Who?"

"Her!"

Nat glanced over his shoulder, where, on the bottom bunk of the bed, sat a small dog, presumably the thing he'd tripped over, a puddle of drool forming just in front of where it sat. "A dog?"

"Her name is E.T." The boy pushed his glasses up his nose and scooped the dog up off the bed, cradling her in his arms. "Please don't tell anyone she's here! They'd make her leave!"

Nat chuckled in spite of himself, wiping the blood from his lip as he got to his feet. "I don't know, man. They can make you leave for something like this."

The other boy looked away, his gaze shifting anxiously. "I know . . . But I have to keep her here. She has no place to go."

"What about your parents? Can't she stay with them?" When he received no answer, Nat smiled. "What's your name?"

"David Levi. I just transferred here. It's my first year." He looked up. "What about you?"

"Same." He picked his guitar up and set it on the bottom bunk, hoping it hadn't been too damaged in the fall. "My name's Nat Wolff."

There was a long pause, one so long that Nat nearly forgot there was someone else in the room. However, as he glanced back over his shoulder, he was met with a cobalt, wide eyed gaze and a gaping expression. "What's wrong?"

It took a moment, but finally David blinked, his mouth opening, closing, and then opening again. "You . . ." He shook his head, as if trying to make sense of things. "You're Nat Wolff."

Nat had to admit, he wasn't quite used to this reaction. Sure, when he and Alex toured the country, they'd been met with countless screaming fangirls, but, especially back home, where everyone knew them, he and his brother were treated just like anyone else. This was definitely a change of pace. "Yeah." He laughed. "Says so on my birth certificate."

A smile made its way across David's face now. "Dude, you're famous! You're the youngest keyboardist in the United States to ever-" He paused, apparently too overcome with awe to continue. "Your songs are brilliant! Last Christmas, my mom bought me all of your albums in that-" He cut himself off again, eyes still wide. "Wait. Where's your keyboard?"

"It was sent ahead of my stuff," Nat explained, a little caught off guard by his roommate's sudden, nonstop chatter. "They should be holding it in the music room."

He pulled things out of his suitcase as David began talking again, this time without stopping. Nat wasn't sure of a lot, but, at that moment, he was positive about one thing: Brooklyn Arts Academy would definitely be interesting.

Alex groaned, dropping his skateboard to the floor before collapsing onto his bed face-first. The campus was larger than he'd thought it would be, with amphitheaters around every corner and students, both new and old, crowding the sidewalks. It'd taken him nearly all afternoon to explore the entire campus - which, in his opinion, looked nothing like the brochures suggested.

Small campus in order to build and maintain close relationships among students? Nope. This thing was twice the size of a metropolis.

Boys' dorms overlooking a nice park and pond, perfect for fishing and camping out? By "boys' dorms," had they perhaps meant "only a hop, skip, and a jump from the other side of the campus"? Alex had found it twenty minutes ago, behind the girls' dorms.

Campus located safely on the west side of the city? Um, no. Alex was pretty sure he'd witnessed two men attempting to rob one another. With weapons. While an elderly woman stole wallets from their back pockets. If this was a good location, he wondered what a bad one might look like.

He'd had dinner alone in the cafeteria, even after waiting half an hour for Nat to show up. Apparently his older brother had already made friends, as well as plans. He'd spent the remainder of the night exploring the last half of the campus, hoping to get a good look at where his classes would be and where the important buildings were located.

He'd also been in search of a practice room for drummers. He'd had to leave his behind in order to travel several hours away with countless bags to carry. Of course, the school had promised they had top notch drum sets and Alex needn't worry about bringing his own. He just hoped they hadn't lied about that as well.

After an hour of searching, Alex found himself too tired and impatient to look anymore and decided to head back to his room for the night. He still hadn't heard from Nat, who hadn't returned his calls and whose room he had no idea how to find. He figured he'd hear from him later, though. After all, it wasn't like Nat to ignore his brother, especially not on purpose.

Alex rolled over, staring up at the blank, white ceiling above. He'd yet to hang any posters, or unpack his things. Classes started the next day. He wondered if he'd even have time.

He glanced at the other side of the room, where the bed had been neatly made and his roommate's stuff littered the area surrounding it. At least he knew he had a roommate. Even before he'd set out on his adventure exploring the campus, his roommate hadn't been present and, although it was clear the other boy had unpacked, Alex had yet to meet him, or see him at all. The youngest Wolff brother checked the clock on his phone. It was past ten. Apparently this new roommate of his was quite the night owl.

As if on cue, the door swung open and in stepped a boy, about Alex's height, wearing baggy clothes and a baseball cap on backwards. He walked in silently, barely acknowledging the existence of his roommate as he dropped his own skateboard to the floor and took a seat on the other bed.

Alex sat up, staring first at the skateboard and next at his dark skinned roommate. " 'Sup, dude?"

At the sound of his voice, the other boy whirled around, dark eyes going wide. "You- You're-"

"Alex Wolff." He smiled. "I know. But . . . Look, you can just treat me like a regular guy. I'm just a person, like you." His roommate nodded at this. "So, what's your name, roomie?"

"You can call me . . ." He trailed off, avoiding Alex's curious gaze. "Juan."

Alex laughed. "You sure about that?"

Juan's head snapped up, eyes suddenly wide. "What do you mean?" he asked, a little too quickly. "Of course I'm sure."

"Chill, bro, I was just messing with you." He kicked his shoes off and leaned back on his bed. "So, is Juan short for something?"

"You could say that." Alex waited, but his roommate failed to elaborate, instead changing the subject, "So you board."

The Wolff brother grinned. "Since I was in diapers. You?"

"Same. We should hang out sometime."

"Definitely."

Juan went silent after that, unpacking more of his stuff as Alex did the same across the room. This kid was pretty weird, but Alex didn't mind. After all, anything was better than sharing a room with Nat for four more years - even a skateboarding fanboy of the Wolff Brothers.

Three guesses who Juan is (hint: it's not hard to figure out). XD Let me know what you think!

Note: I have no idea whether or not Brooklyn Arts Academy is an actual place. If so, the one in this story is purely fictional and has no resemblance whatsoever to the real one. :P