Blindly In Love (Sanders Sides LAMP fic)

Chapter 3: New Start

Morning everyone, or perhaps afternoon. Hope you enjoy reading. As always take care of yourselves and thank you for reading!

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"We're here. You ready Virgil?"

Virgil nodded absently as he reached over to run his fingers through the soft fur of the dog pressed against his side. He could feel the car pulling up into a parking spot and hear it being shifted into park.

"Hang on honey, I'll come around and open the door for you," Virgil's mother said as she unbuckled herself.

"Mom, it's just a car, I can get out myself," Virgil replied.

"Virgil, it's really busy right now, I'd feel much safer if I was there to help you watch out for any of those ridiculous drivers," she argued.

Virgil let out a sigh of defeat, still smiling.

"Alright, if it makes you feel better I'll let you help me," Virgil replied.

His mother and father both exited the car, his father heading to the trunk and his mother coming up to his door. He unstrapped himself before patting around for his cane and the leash of his dog.

"Come on girl," he ordered once the door opened.

He could feel the seat shifting as his seeing eye dog got up to go out the car with him, staying close to his legs. He tapped his cane along the ground finding the curb with a bit of unneeded guidance from his mother and waiting up on the sidewalk for his parents to retrieve his bags. Other students walked by with their parents, suitcases rumbling across the uneven concrete surface. He could hear a few people, particularly females, squealing not so secretly about how cute his dog was.

"Ember," Virgil said softly.

She laid down beside him, pressing against his leg comfortingly so he knew her location like she had been trained to do.

"Ready to go, Pumpkin?" His mother asked when she returned with his father.

"I... Ember seems to be drawing a lot of attention. People aren't allowed to have pets in the dorms. What if someone reports her and they say I'm not allowed to have a dog?" Virgil fretted.

"Honey, she's not just a pet, she is a service animal licensed for both blindness and anxiety. They legally cannot separate her from you. Besides we already filled out all of the forms to allow you to have her in your dorm and enroll you in a program with a volunteer student who is going to help you with anything you end up needing, everything is going to be fine," she promised before kissing the top of his head. "Now let's get you inside and all settled in."

Virgil reluctantly nodded before clicking his tongue, making Ember stand up.

"Do you want me to carry something?" Virgil asked, feeling badly that his parents were taking care of all of it for him.

"No, no, we've got it, Bud," his dad replied.

Virgil gave another nod before turning to head off in the direction the others in the parking lot seemed to be heading to. He could hear the sound of his mother's hard soled shoes walking protectively close to him.

"Welcome to Doves Landing!" A couple of volunteer upperclassmen said as they came up to the doors they were holding open.

Virgil ducked his head in a shy greeting before quickly slipping through the doors, narrowly avoiding the metal pole in the center in his rush. The sound below his cane seemed to now be from some sort of thin carpet or rug. He approached what sounded like an information center before stopping when he heard running on two sides of him.