Chapter Text
“Come on, Hollis. Girl the hell up and go in there.” Laura takes a deep breath and lets out a long exhale as she turns the doorknob, squeaking her way into her new house.
There are tarps and sheets thrown all over the furniture, with a thin layer of dust already collecting. Her boxes are strewn about the living room, courtesy of the moving company.
She runs a hand through her hair and takes a moment to peer around the first floor before opening one of the smaller boxes.
She pulls out her laptop and opens the program to start recording.
“Hey… Uhm… whoever’s watching these when I post them,” she begins brightly. “Just made it into my new house…”
A floorboard creaks nearby and Laura freezes, looking around but seeing nothing. She takes a moment to recompose herself before continuing.
Carmilla crosses her arms and frowns. A new inhabitant in the house, and so soon? The previous girl had only been… gone for a couple days. She was just starting to enjoy having the place to herself again. Ghost constitution and all.
She watches as this Laura Hollis gesticulates wildly, words flying out of her mouth a mile a minute.
Damn. She’s cute.
There’s a knock at the door and Carmilla groans. “Wow, these two don’t wait, do they?” she grumbles. She knows Laura can’t hear her, but this won’t stop her from voicing her displeasure.
Laura gets up from her spot and walks to the front door. “Hi!” she greets warmly.
“Hello! I’m Lola Perry and this is LaFontaine,” one of two redheads replies. “We live in the next house over.”
“I’m Laura Hollis. Guess I’m your new neighbor.” She steps aside. “Please, come in.”
Carmilla rolls her eyes. “Sure, just invite them into our humble abode, cutie,” she drawls.
The two hover in the doorway for a moment before hesitantly stepping inside.
Laura starts to close the door when a hand reaches out and stops it. “Oh!”
She opens the door wider, revealing a taller redhead.
“Sorry, didn’t see you there,” Laura squeaks.
The other girl laughs, clearly charmed by her. “It’s fine. I’m Danny Lawrence, I live on the other side of you. I saw Perry and LaF come over and thought I might as well, too.”
“I’m Laura Hollis.” Danny extends a hand and Laura takes it, shaking it. It goes on for slightly too long as Laura stares up at Danny with a goofy grin.
“Minus massive points to you for crushing on the giant, cupcake,” Carmilla grumbles.
“Well, uh, come on in,” Laura says shyly.
Danny nods and brushes past her. Laura shuts the door. “Uhm, sorry it’s so messy.”
LaF shrugs. “Ah, I mean, it’s better than the last time we saw it––”
Perry elbows them and they let out a cough. “It was so sweet of you to invite us in, Laura,” Perry declares with a forced smile.
Laura cocks her head to the side. “When was the last time you saw the inside of this house?”
The three redheads share a look before LaF clears their throat. “Do you know who lived here before you?”
Laura nods. “Elizabeth Anne Spielsdorf. Also known as my friend, Betty.”
Carmilla’s eyes widen. That, she was not expecting.
“Wait, you knew Betty?” Perry asks.
Laura swallows hard. “She was my roommate in college and I–– well, I-I know everyone thinks she died of natural causes, but… I dunno.” She laughs nervously and shakes her head. “This probably sounds crazy to you guys.”
Danny chuckles dryly. “Lemme get this straight. Your friend dies and you think it’s from suspicious causes, so you move into her house to figure out the truth?”
Laura gulps and nods slowly.
“That is hardcore,” LaF breathes out.
Laura shrugs, blushing. “If you say so. All I know is, I was on the phone with Betty when she died and–– it didn’t sound natural.”
Carmilla silently chastises herself again for not waiting longer or being more careful when she was dealing with Betty. She had seen that Betty was on the phone with someone, and continued anyway. But her mother had been so insistent and impatient…
“And I tried telling the cops and anyone who would listen, and no one believes me, so I decided to just do the investigation myself and try to find proof.”
“Well, Betty may not have been our friend by all definitions, since she wasn’t living here long,” Perry begins with a sigh. “But we liked her enough as a neighbor and if what you’re saying is true then I would love to help however I can.”
LaF and Danny both quickly agree.
Laura’s face lights up and she does a little dorky dance, squealing and pulling them all in for a hug.
Carmilla smirks at the scene before her. Yep. Definitely cute.
“Thank goodness I’m not doing this alone.” Laura pulls away, getting slightly teary. “I just… She wasn’t the greatest person but… if something else happened, then she should have someone to find out the truth, you know? No one deserves dying and being forgotten about.”
Carmilla lets out a rueful laugh. Apparently Laura Hollis was naïve, too.
“That is very sweet of you, Laura,” Perry says warmly.
Laura beams and Carmilla finds herself cracking a small smile, too. Why was it so contagious?
“Okay, Betty. Don’t worry. We’ll find out the truth,” Laura says, more to herself than anyone else.
Carmilla lets out a sigh. Laura was too good to meet the same fate as Betty. She was going to have to scare this girl so much that she ran, wasn’t she?
She made a motion of cracking her knuckles. “Alright, Karnstein,” Carmilla grumbles. “Time to get your haunt on.”