by Zenia, Zara
We headed back to our dorm above ground this time, watching the setting sun dip beneath the dense treeline and chatting about Zap and Brian.
“I like him,” Laurie admitted. “It’s fun, it’s so long since I’ve met new people. I forgot how exciting it is.”
“I know, I don’t know if I’ve ever met new people. And Zap is really interesting, I know people are freaked out by Grays, but he just seems normal to me.” I lifted a shoulder. He’d been a thousand times easier to get on with than some of the humans in my town.
“I’m doubly excited about starting classes now. There are so many people here, people who actually understand.”
Back in the dorms, we took the elevator to our floor and headed along the corridor. A tall guy stood outside Nala’s room looking at his cell. I spied the pointy ears of the Fae beneath his long red hair. He was leaning against the wall as though he didn’t have a care in the world, one hand stuffed deep into the pocket of a long coat that grazed the back of his ankles. He turned his head at the sound of people approaching, and I was immediately struck by his striking features. They were almost androgynous, but definitely beautiful.
He looked away again before he could realize just how much I was checking him out, thankfully.
Laurie nudged me in the side with her elbow, slowing her pace a little. “Go talk to him.”
“What?”
“Do it!”
I was about to keep protesting, but I’d just been singing the praises of meeting new people.
Just having a quick conversation with the Fae couldn’t do any harm.
4
Colin
I stuffed my hands in my pocket as I waited for Nala to answer the door.
My heart thumped inside my chest, and part of me couldn’t help but feel optimistic. I knew Nala’s reputation, I knew what people had told me, but she’d told me things too. She’d told me it was different this time, she’d touched me as if she never wanted to let go.
That had to mean something, didn’t it? Even if she was pulling away now I’d given her my virginity, it didn’t mean I was just another one in the line of guys she’d made fall in love with her and then ditched the second they were no longer pure.
Being a were-unicorn didn’t have to mean that she was exclusively attracted to the purity of virgins.
In a moment of weakness, I broke composure and ran a hand through my long red hair, before shoving it deep in my pocket again.
Eventually, Nala answered the door.
She was stunning. Of course she was stunning. In just pajama shorts and a thin tank without bra, I could remember how it had felt to run my fingers over every inch of her athletic body.
Her face dimmed a little when she saw me, before she forced a smile back onto her face. “Colin.”
“Hi,” I said. “I’m just here to drop off those games I borrowed from you.”
Her smile was more genuine at that. Relief. My heart sunk further.
“Oh, okay. Thank you for that. What did you think of the platformer? I really struggled toward the end, and I’m pretty good at platformers in general. I mean, I know you are too. That’s not what I’m saying, I’m just curious whether you had a hard time with it or not. And even though I did, I still enjoyed it. I didn’t warn you because I didn’t want to taint your opinion on it until you’d played it.”
Despite everything, I still found the rambling cute. It would have been so easy to just go and sit on her bed and have her lay her head on my chest and talk for hours about whatever was on her mind. As we had done, just a month ago, before I’d slept with her, and everything had been turned on its head.
“Yeah, I found it hard,” I lied. I hadn’t even finished playing it. I couldn’t bring myself to after Nala stopped responding to my texts. Even seeing the game on my shelf had been enough to make me angry and sad.
Bringing it back had been both an optimistic and pessimistic move. Part of me was optimistic that when she saw me again she’d remember how good of a time we’d had with each other, that she’d realize how much she missed me, as I missed her.
The other half knew that I was getting rid of the game so that I could move on without reminders of her all over my dorm room.
“Well, thanks for bringing it back.” She shifted her weight and folded her arms over her chest.
“Nala—”
“Don’t, Colin. I know I’ve been a bit distant and I should have said things to your face instead of just being uncommunicative. I know that, but you know me too. You know what I’m like. I like you, I really like you, but I just can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?” I demanded, trying not to raise my voice. I didn’t want to scare her, but my heart felt like it was twice its normal size in my chest. The back of my throat burned with the tears I was forcing myself not to shed. “If you like me, and I like you, then you can. That’s how it works. That’s how all of this works.”
She looked away. “I’m trying to be nice and not telling you what I mean properly. I don’t want to do this. Okay? What we had is done. It’s over. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt your feelings, but I can’t do this either.” She rested her hand on the door, getting ready to close it in his face. “I had a really fun time with you, Colin, and I’ll never forget it, but we’re not going to be together.”
I took a deep breath. I should be able to be the bigger person, to accept it instead of continuing to argue with her like a pathetic guy who’d just been dumped.
Even though that was exactly what I was.
“Fine. Whatever.” I turned before she could shut the door in face my face. At least I had some dignity left at the end of it all.
And I’d known. I should have known. Enough people had warned me. How many had she been through in the past year? Eight?
I groaned, slumping back against the wall of the corridor and running hands through my hair.
I really was an idiot.
Pulling my cell from my pocket, I flicked open the messages and found the guy I was looking for. Vlad Forescu. Dragon-shifter from Romania and always the best bet for acquiring booze.
I shot him a quick message asking if he could get hold of some whiskey for me, and then flicked through some social media feeds, trying to drag myself away from Nala’s door and the slight possibility that she might fling it open and confess that she’d just been scared and did want to give it a go between them after all.
I didn’t even notice when the elevator clicked open and two girls walked toward me, not until they’d come to stop outside the door opposite Nala’s. But when I saw her, there was no chance I was going to look away.
She was hot. Stunning. Even feeling miserable about Nala didn’t stop that being obvious. Short and cute with dark hair and large brown eyes that were staring straight at me.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hi,” I replied.
The other girl waved instead of saying anything, and pushed open the door to their room. “I’m beat, I’d stay and chat but it’s been a long day. Nice to meet you.”
The remaining girl grinned at me, staring with wide eyes as if she’d never seen something like me before. I was only Fae, it was hardly a rare occurrence to see someone like me, especially not on a supernatural campus.
Mind you, I wasn’t unaware of the effect I had on women sometimes. I’d been asked out enough times. Nala was the only one that I’d ever really gone out with though. I hadn’t thought I was that bothered about dating until her.
“I’m Marina,” she said.
“Colin.”
“Are you a first year?” she asked.
“No. Second.” I leaned further against the wall, trying to look cooler than I felt. I was still annoyed and hurt about Nala, and even talking to someone else wasn’t going to distract me from that.
I should have left, I wanted to leave, because standing outside Nala’s door wasn’t going to help anyway, but something about Marina kept me right there.
She was chatting at me abo
ut her major while staring at me with those big eyes. There was something infectious about her energy. Part of me was tempted to match it just because she looked so content.
“I’m an art student,” I said. “Sculptures mostly. That’s what I love.”
“Really? That sounds incredible. I’ve never been any good at arty things, I just don’t have a flair for it. Does being Fae give you extra artistic talent or anything, or is it something you do independent of being supernatural?”
“It’s got nothing to do with my supernatural abilities. The only thing the fact I’m Fae is good for is fighting. Though I guess you knew that.” Fae were all superhumanly strong and fast and healed rapidly from most wounds. We had some empathic abilities too, such as granting charms or good fortune, but it was nothing compared to our fighting skills if we trained well.
That just wasn’t something I’d ever really cared about.
“I suppose I did know that,” she said. “But it’s so different actually speaking to people.” She leaned forward a little as she spoke and I got a whiff of vanilla shampoo. It was somehow girly without being overpowering like most perfumed things.
“You’ve never met a Fae before?”
“Not in person. I come from a really small town, it’s pretty much all human.”
“How does that even happen nowadays?”
“People driving out supernaturals. There were enough humans that they could always bully supernaturals into leaving. I mean, why stay somewhere you’re not wanted at all?”
“But you were there.”
“I was born there. My mom and dad had lived there their entire life, and my mom didn’t want to leave. It was easier for me because it’s not obvious that I’m supernatural I suppose. I mostly hid it, to be honest, it was years before anyone even found out.”
“That’s sad.”
She quirked her lip in a half smile. “Well I’m here now. That’s all I really care about.” She shifted her weight, as if she was uncomfortable with how the conversation had turned. “So, do you know Nala? I’m guessing that’s why you’re here in the girls’ dorm.”
My face fell. “Yeah. I know her.”
Marina realized immediately that she’d said something bad, but floundered a little for something to stay instead.
Despite everything, she was still cute.
That was why I threw her a bone. “Have you seen much of the town yet?”
We spent the next few minutes making small talk and gradually my anger faded again. Nala didn’t matter, there was a hot girl standing and chatting to me with those big fascinated eyes. I was sure that she was gradually moving closer, too. She hadn’t always been this close, had she?
But rebounding was a terrible decision.
Even if she’d taken my mind of Nala despite there only being a thin wall separating us, it wasn’t a good idea. Even if I could already imagine wrapping my arms around her waist and planting my lips on hers, it wasn’t a good idea.
But it was so tempting.
Marina was mid-sentence when she placed her hand over her mouth and yawned. “Oh, God, sorry. I promise you’re not boring me.”
I raised a brow. “Not boring? Well I’m glad about that. What am I doing to you?” I couldn’t help it, it came naturally when she left an opening like that.
She flushed red and I wanted to make her blush again and again. Her eyes flicked away for a second and I worried if I’d pushed it too far.
Then she flashed a grin at me and replied, “Well you’re indulging all my questions, so you’re more likely to be bored than I am.”
“I am more than happy to indulge your questions whenever you like.”
She arched a brow. “Well I won’t be able to do that unless I can get a hold of you.”
“I suppose you’ll have to give me your number then.” It wasn’t as if I ever had to use it if I got home and decided I was being an idiot, but right now the thought of not seeing her again, and soon, was painful.
She gave me her number and then stifled another yawn. “I guess I’ll go and get some sleep too,” she said. “I didn’t realize how tired I’d gotten.”
I checked the time on my cell. “Yeah. We’ve been standing here way longer than I thought.” Time had been swept out from under me, and I wasn’t complaining. I had a message from Vlad, too.
The thought of drowning my sorrows wasn’t even that appealing anymore. Not unless it was drowning them with Marina sitting beside me, anyway.
We said our goodbyes and then I headed away from the girls’ dorms.
It wasn’t long before Nala had invaded my thoughts again, but at least for a little while, Marina had been the only thing on my mind.
5
Marina
I woke bright and early for the next few mornings. During the day, Laurie and I explored campus and got used to the layout, both above ground and underground.
The gorgeous buildings already made it look like there was a lot of space on campus to familiarize ourselves with, but when you factored into account the staggering number of buildings underground, it really put into perspective just how many people attended the college. So many supernaturals in one place. It was more than I could have hoped for.
Right now we were lazing beneath a tree and eating some lunch. Being so close to the Catskills, the weather was regularly dreary on campus, but today the sun was shining bright and I was even able to wear shorts, it was so nice to sit and picnic. We were going to be spending so much time underground when the semester started that I wanted to make the most of the sun while I had it.
I sipped on my coffee. “This is nowhere near as tasty as the energy-boosting cookies Maggie made,” I lamented.
“We’re definitely going to have to get some more of them,” Laurie agreed. “She said she normally sells them to students, right? Ooh, I bet there’s so much random stuff she can do with her magic. Like, I wonder if she could make a love potion or something like that.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Love potion?”
Laurie laughed. “Oh come on, don’t tell me you haven’t already been thinking about who you can start dating on campus. We’ve met so many cute boys.”
My cheeks turned pink, and I knew I’d hesitated enough that she wouldn’t believe my answer anyway. “I just want to focus on my studies.”
“You know it is possible to get good grades and have a life, right?”
I groaned. “I don’t want to date. I’m not ready to date.”
“Not ready? As in you never have before?”
I grew redder. “Laurie,” I whined. “Don’t do this to me.”
“Oh, we’re so doing this,” she teased. “Come on, I saw you and that guy outside Nala’s room. You were totally into him.”
It was true that I’d spent a lot more time thinking about Colin the past couple of days than I had about cryptozoology, and that was really saying something. “I mean, he was cute,” I allowed.
“Of course he was! And he asked for your number, and flirted with you.”
“How do you know that he flirted with me?”
“It would have been rude not to listen at the door.”
“Laurie!”
She fired a wicked grin at me. “Really, though, it’s just some fun. And you’re still in your first year, it’s not as if these exams are even really that important. You can afford to have a little bit of fun.”
“But what if he doesn’t think it’s a little bit of fun?”
“Just make it clear it is. Besides, guys are always the ones that want fun and girls want something serious. He’ll probably be relieved if you tell him you just want to date casually.”
I took a large bite of my sandwich to put off having to answer her straight away. Was I even ready to date casually? How did I know I wouldn’t end up wanting something more?
“I’ve never done this before,” I finally admitted, even though it was embarrassing. “I mean at home, I literally never dated anyone before, and definitely not another supernatural.
I wouldn’t even know what I was doing.”
“No one knows what they’re doing, we’re eighteen. You just try it out and see whether you’re having a good time or not.”
“You’ve dated a lot?”
“Not a lot, but I’ve had some casual relationships and a serious relationship. I mean, I was like fourteen when I had my serious relationship, but still. I know that I still have no idea what I’m doing.”
I laughed. Maybe I could do this. And I did want to see Colin again. We’d texted briefly, but he hadn’t asked to meet up or anything, and there was obviously something going on between him and Nala. His face had said everything when I’d stuck my foot in it by asking him. Was that something serious? It must be to have made him look that angry.
But he’d still asked me for my number.
I groaned and pushed my fingers through my hair. “This is all so complicated.”
Laurie chuckled. “Yeah, maybe, but it’s fun. That’s all that matters.”
We watched as people milled about in the green space between the building that housed the cafeteria below ground and another building. There were plenty of people out to enjoy the sunshine, mostly sitting in groups and eating.
I could have spent forever just sitting and staring. I wanted to be able to hear into their conversations. Did they talk about things that I didn’t understand because they were supernatural and had been around other supernaturals their entire lives?
Meeting Laurie hadn’t made me feel like I was hugely out of touch with supernatural culture. If anything, it had just made me feel like I was a bit out of touch with being a teenage girl culture. Laurie had great grades, she’d gotten into Sleepy Hollow, but she’d also lived an actual life instead of spending all her time with her nose stuck in a book.
Maybe now I was here, and there were all these new people, I could enjoy both my education and a social life.
