Chapter Text
"So how long are you gonna be away for?"
Laura and Danny are sitting across from one another at a table in the cafeteria. They're sharing a piece of cherry pie, which sits on the table between them. Laura stares determinedly at her fork spearing a fat cherry as she asks her question. She doesn't want Danny to see the disappointment on her face. Or maybe she does? Laura isn't sure. She feels so uncertain with Danny these days. It's clear that they both like each other, but every time one of them tries to progress beyond that.... it's like they hit a wall, and Laura isn't sure why.
"Tomorrow," Danny says, cutting in through Laura's thoughts. "I'll only be gone a couple days," she adds. "These summer society meet ups are really straightforward. I wouldn't even be going if the other girl hadn't gotten sick."
"I know," says Laura. She eats her bite of pie, chews it carefully, and swallows. "I'll just... miss you, I guess." Laura stops looking at the pie and flicks her glance up to Danny's as she says this, wanting to gauge the other girl's reaction.
Danny's face softens. "I'll miss you too," she admits. "But it's only a couple days. Just... stay out of trouble until then, okay? And maybe steer clear of Carmilla if you can."
Instantly, Laura's mood sours. She doesn't like being coddled or ordered around, and she especially doesn't like when it comes from Danny, who she knows she's talked to about this. "She's my roommate," Laura says. "It's not like I can avoid the other half of my bedroom."
"I know." Danny looks faintly embarrassed. "But can't you just try? For me? I don't trust her."
"Well I do," Laura snaps. She says it to be contrary, but as soon as the words escape her lips, she also knows its true.
Danny sighs. She puts down her fork, and shoves the paper plate of pie towards Laura. "If you say so," she says, but she doesn't sound like she believes it. Danny looks as though she might have more to say, but instead, she just shakes her head. "I'll call you when I get back, okay?"
Laura pokes at the pie with her fork and smiles slightly. "Yeah. Sure."
Laura sighs as Danny walks away. This was so not how she had imagined her afternoon with Danny would go. Laura had thought they'd eat pie, giggle over last Wednesday's lecture, and that maybe, maybe, Danny would finally freaking ask her out already. Instead, Danny had left town, and left the room with the sour note of an unspoken argument.
Truthfully, things have been tense with Danny for awhile. Laura still likes her a lot, but Danny's drive to always be the hero (admittedly paired with Laura's tendency to get chucked into perilous situations) have undeniably put a wedge in their budding relationship. Add to that Danny's intense dislike of Carmilla, which only grew as Laura warmed up to the broody vamp, and tiny explosions had been peppering their interactions for days now.
Maybe it's for the best that she's going out of town, Laura thinks glumly. Maybe it will give us both a chance to clear our heads.
Her cell trills, and Laura digs it out of her pocket and flips it open. She ignores the snicker from a nearby table at the sight of her archaic phone. She knows it's embarrassing. But what's she supposed to do? There's no way her dad will pony up for a new one. Not in this decade, anyway.
Laura's phone is lit up with one text message. It's from LaFontaine, and reads: Come back to dorm. Urgent!!!
Laura shuts her phone and shoves it away. She's already on her feet and gathering her things. Whatever LaFontaine categorizes as an emergency, she'd like to know sooner rather than later-- like, y'know, when flying monkeys have attacked the school play or something. Laura swings her messenger bag over her shoulder, and trots out of the caf.
Laura enters her room at a dash and finds LaFontaine nowhere in sight. The only other person there is Carmilla, sitting cross legged on Laura's bed, reading. She's still wearing her shoes. Laura wrinkles her nose.
"If you have to use my bed all the time, could you at least take off your shoes?" Laura asks pointedly. "I don't need graveyard dust or whatever all over my sheets."
Carmilla looks up from her book slowly. "Like you'd notice amidst all the cookie crumbs," she says, in a bored voice.
"Those are my crumbs, to be distributed through my sheets as I see fit!" Laura can hear herself getting shrill. What was she saying before, something about warming up to the broody vamp? So not the case right now.
Carmilla rolls her eyes, but swings her legs over the edge of Laura's bed and stands up. "Whatever," she says. "What are you even doing back? I thought you had a date with Brienne of Tarth."
"It wasn't a date," Laura replies automatically. "It was-- actually, you know what? It's really none of your business. Have you seen LaFontaine?"
"Did you check their room?" Carmilla asks dryly. She flops backwards onto her own bed and opens her book again.
"No," says Laura. "They asked me to--"
"There you are." LaFontaine interrupts Laura midsentence when they enter the room. Perry follows close behind, a nervous expression on her face, her red curls piled on top of her head.
"There I am?" Laura wonders aloud. "There you are! I thought you had to meet me here. Urgently."
"I do. I just didn't want to wait with--" LaFontaine's gaze skitters to Carmilla, and they stop speaking abruptly.
Carmilla notices. "Don't mind me," she drawls. "I'll hit the road so you girls can get back to your super secret society meeting."
She starts to get up, and Perry elbows LaFontaine in the side. LaFontaine clears their throat. "Uh, we were actually hoping you could stay," they say. "I mean, if you don't have any bloodlust to tend to or someth-- oof!" LaFontaine is cut off when Perry elbows them again, clearly with more force this time.
Carmilla raises an eyebrow, but says nothing. She sits back down on her bed.
Laura sits opposite Carmilla, on her own bed. "So what's up?" she asks.
"Major case of the creepy crawlies in one of the other dorms," LaFontaine replies.
"Sus-- LaFontaine," Perry corrects herself quickly. "Cut it out. Things are weird enough without tossing in paranormal histrionics." She pauses. "Not weird. Tense. Things are tense."
"Aw, come on, Perry," LaFontaine protests. "Even you gotta admit that there's something very bogus happening this time. There are half a dozen witnesses!"
"It's someone playing a prank," says Perry, her voice pitched high. "Or an infestation, or... or..."
"Um, hello?" Laura cuts in. "Is there a loop that I can be brought into any time soon?"
Perry and LaFontaine both look at Laura. Across the room, Carmilla stares into space and looks bored.
"Right," LaFontaine says sheepishly. "Sorry. You know Davies Hall?"
Laura nods. It's another dorm, a little off campus, and where housing for married and long term couples is provided.
"Welp," LaFontaine continues, "It's got a teensy bit of a monster problem."
"It's not a monster problem," Perry says stiffly. She looks at Laura. "But there have been some disturbances. Couples collapsing from exhaustion, even when they were perfectly healthy the night before. People complaining of strange nightmares--"
Laura and Carmilla exchange a fast, worried look at the mention of nightmares.
Perry either doesn't notice, or ignores them. She continues, "--and waking up with sores on their legs that they can't explain. Obviously, it sounds like an infection--"
"But disease control already swept the dorms, and they're clean," LaFontaine puts in.
"Hold up," Laura says. "We have a team for disease control here? How much money does Silas even have?"
Perry, LaFontaine, and Carmilla all look uncomfortable. Nobody answers Laura.
Laura sighs, and throws her hands in the air. "Whatever. Never mind. What does this have to do with me? Or--" she glances quickly at Carmilla, "--with us?"
"Getting to that," says LaFontaine. Perry makes an impatient noise, and LaFontaine waves their hands, like they're giving Perry the floor.
Perry smiles briefly at LaFontaine before carrying forward. "If it's not an infection, it must be manufactured," she says. "We think that somebody--"
"--or something--" LaFontaine interrupts.
Perry glares at her. "--that somebody must be messing around with people. Drugging them. Planting stuff in their room. Even making a racket to keep everyone up all night, that could explain the exhaustion and the nightmares--"
"We want Vampirella to go undercover and figure out what the frak is going on," LaFontaine bursts out. Perry glares at her again, lips pursed tightly.
Carmilla sits up straighter. "Excuse me?"
Perry looks nervously towards Carmilla. "Nobody from administration will check it out," she says, her voice firmer than her expression. "You know how they are about... oddities. I tried to explain that there must be a rational explanation, but they wouldn't listen. And people are getting hurt."
"So you want me to what?" Carmilla asks. "Pull out my Luna Pen and pretend to be a new transfer? I don't think so."
"Not just you," says Perry. "Laura, too."
"What?" Laura squeaks.
"Only serious couple are allowed to stay in the residence," Perry explains. "And they already know me and LaFontaine. Laura, you just started at Silas, and Carmilla, I don't think anybody knows who you are. We could sneak you guys in."
"Plus, if it is something gnarly, we figured an extra dose of vampire strength wouldn't hurt," LaFontaine adds.
"Anyway," says Perry, ignoring LaFontaine's use of the V-word, "It will only be for a couple days, and we figured, you two are roommates already anyway..."
"Damn, red." Carmilla looks at Perry with new respect. "I didn't think you'd be about breaking the rules."
Perry sniffs. "Sometimes you have to break rules to straighten them out," she says, holding her head high. LaFontaine is watching her with something resembling adoration. Perry catches their eye, and they have the kind of short, silent conversation that only lifelong best friends can have, that ends when Perry ducks her head and smiles.
"So will you do it?" LaFontaine asks.
"I have to pretend I'm married to Laura?" Carmilla asks. She sounds intrigued.
"Won't that be weird?" asks Laura. "It sounds totally weird."
"Not married, just... serious," says Perry. "You won't have to do anything weird. Just act... together enough that you don't raise the suspicions of anybody in the building."
"Of course, if you're worried about Danny..." LaFontaine says suggestively.
"I'm not," Laura says quickly. She bites back a wince. Did that sound totally defensive? She tries to sound casual when she adds, "Sure. Fine. Yeah. I'm in. It's just for a few days, right?"
"Right." LaFontaine and Perry speak in unison.
"Don't sound too thrilled, princess," says Carmilla. She sounds annoyed, although Laura can't fathom why. Probably, Laura thinks, she's preemptively mourning the opportunity to eat her food and trash her stuff for a whole weekend straight. She wonders if Carmilla will even agree to this idea. She can't imagine her doing this out of the goodness of her heart or whatever. I mean, her heart wasn't even beating. How many altruistic impulses could it really be sending out?
So Carmilla surprises Laura when she says, "Okay, I'll do it."
Perry breathes a huge, noisy sigh of relief, and Laura looks towards both her and LaFontaine. Perry's face is an open book, gratitude that Laura and Carmilla have agreed, mingled with nerves (undoubtedly about screwing with the rules.)
LaFontaine... LaFontaine puzzles Laura. They're watching Carmilla, with the look of somebody who has just worked out something that they have been wondering about for a very long time. Laura almost opens her mouth to ask what's up, but refrains. A prickle on the back of her neck tells her that whatever LaFontaine's revelation, it is not for her to hear.
"That is so great," Perry says. "I know this is a lot to ask, but-- thank you so much. Really. I don't know how to thank you enough."
"You can start by leaving our room," says Carmilla, all charm as usual.
Perry is nonplussed. "I'll bring some paperwork and stuff tomorrow, and we can move you guys in. Er... late." she squints at Carmilla. "I know you have that... sleep... thing..."
As Perry trails off, fighting for the words to rationally define vampirism, LaFontaine rolls their eyes fondly and tugs Perry by the arm. "We'll see you guys tomorrow," they say.
The door shuts behind them, leaving Carmilla and Laura alone. Laura glances towards Carmilla, and finds that Carmilla is already watching her. Their eyes meet and hold for a long, endless moment as Laura tries to process what just went down.
"So," Carmilla says finally, breaking the silence. "Tomorrow, huh?" She grins. "Ready for our honeymoon, creampuff?"
Laura groans and throws her pillow at Carmilla, who easily ducks it, but tucks the pillow behind her, and Laura mentally curses herself, wondering how long it will be before she will get the pillow back.
And all this before they were even faux common-law.
What had she gotten herself into?!