Fine Lines

Chapter 1

Astril

Fuck. This is it. I thought as I walked up the steps to Wisteria U's front dorms. The college campus was much bigger than I had intended. Obviously I knew it was big but, damn! The driver dropped me off right in front of the dorms luckily, but I am certainly going to need a map to get to my classes for the first few weeks at least. Dozens of buildings made up the university, all dating back a few centuries. It was originally built by the vampire council for their personal uses but after a few decades, they opened it up to other supernaturals and then eventually to humans as a public college. You can study everything from supernatural history to medicine to law to even drama and literature. Wisteria puts Ivy League schools to shame. With the mix of gothic and victorian era design, it's almost more castlelike than college. Much different than the tents and treehouses I grew up in...

Several students were already moving into the dorms or just lingering outside to see what fresh meat was joining this year. Many of them had their eyes trained on me, a petite girl with big pointy ears sticking out of my silvery white hair. Most elves dye their hair darker in order to avoid standing out but I loved my natural hair, I was proud of who I was. Except now I wish I at least wore a hat...

Lugging the several bags I had brought up the stairs, I found my way to my dorm room on the top floor. At least I'll have a nice view from the window. The halls were crawling with students, bags and boxes sitting outside open dorms, and all kinds of music playing from within. My own dorm was silent, giving the appearance that my roommate was either gone or not here yet. Either way, I was hoping for a moment alone to process all this.

I tapped on the door and waited anxiously for a reply. Or the lack thereof.

"Thank the gods." I whispered as I opened the door. It swung open to reveal a standard dorm room. A door to a full bathroom was on the left while a small kitchenette was to the right and past that, was a large room with a bed, desk, and armoire set up to mirror each side. One half was already decorated in black and greys. A big prada poster and fake lips hung over a bed covered in black silk pillows and a grey fur blanket. Thick black curtains hung over the window on the same side and the desk was set up with books and a calligraphy set.

Very...gothic? I thought was I set my bags on the empty bed. At least I can decorate my side to be a bit lighter. I got to work unpacking and hanging up the few things I brought from home like butterfly and botanical charts, the macrame wall hanging a friend and I had made last summer, fairy lights, and a couple of my favorite hanging plants from home. My cream colored sheets were a stark difference from the opposite side which made me laugh but I was happy with my side.

As soon as I finished putting my clothes in the armoire, the door opened and a girl my age walked in. She was taller than me (Not hard to do to be honest) and pale. Her features were sharp and angled, giving that perfect RBF. Her black hair was piled into a messy bun atop her head and she wore a victorian style blouse and long skirt.

"You must be my roommate. Welcome." She spoke as she walked in, her voice was deep and elegant.

"Yes! I'm Astrilabek Fairhope but you can just call me Astril. It's nice to meet you." I replied, hopefully not sounding too eager.

"Yes, nice to meet you, Astril. I'm Tawnie Dragomir, science major." She offered her hand which I shook, finding her to be ice cold. "I hope you don't mind but I like the room to be dark." She motioned to my sheer curtains. Realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Oh duh, you're a vampire. Yeah no problem, I can get one of those roll up blinds or something." I replied sheepishly. I didn't have a ton of experience with vampires and the few I had met intimidated me. They were an ancient race that took pride in their high class mannerisms. Tawnie was no exception, carrying herself in a controlled manner and speaking carefully.

"You don't mind do you?" She asked, peering down at me.

"As long as you don't mind that I'm an elf." I chuckled, secretly bracing myself for discrimination.

"Not at all. I was hoping for someone, different." She surprised me by smiling. Hopefully we could be friends and make this all a bit more bearable. So far, it seemed almost promising.

She sat on her bed and began unlacing her boots. I sat on mine and faced her. "So, science major huh? That's a pretty intense field."

"Yeah but I have always been fascinated by magic and am interesting in learning how to use it." She shrugged, carefully placing her shoes below her. I wanted to laugh at the contrast of hers, perfectly lined up, and my sandals that were just tossed in the corner. "How about you? What is your major?"

"Holistic medicine. I think I want to focus in on veterinary or basic nursing stuff. I'm not too sure yet." I shrugged as well. It's no secret elves are natural healers and known for being close with plants and animals. Tawnie just nodded. It was hard to read her so I felt nervous. Was she judging me? Should I have worded it differently to sound smarter?

"I can respect that. Anyways, I'm hungry. Want pizza?" She looked me dead on. Do vampires eat pizza?

"Uh, sure..." I trailed off, my head drifting off with the thought of what vampires like to eat. She must have caught on as she started laughing.

"Vampires eat real food ya know. Drinking blood is just a thing we do occasionally for a pick-me-up."

"Right. Totally." I shrugged, attempting to hide my embarrassment. "I'm not picky, as long as there's no meat."

"Right, elves are vegetarians." She added casually. "How about a veggie supreme and I'll just add sausage to my side."

"Sounds good." I smile. Day one down and safe to say successful?