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The door slammed hard enough to rattle the picture frames.
“Get. Out.”
Pearl stood in the middle of the cramped apartment with a fire-extinguisher in her hand, as the smoke alarm blared in her ear, reminding her of her mistake.
Pearl stared at her roommate like a kicked puppy who’d never learnt how to stop biting. Again. For the seventh time this year.
“You cannot be serious,” Pearl said, setting the fire extinguisher down. The curtain was burned in half, ashes and soot covering the ground and wall. “It was one accident.”
Her roommate, Elena, crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe with the expression of someone who’d already rehearsed this argument over and over again, but just now worked up the courage to say something.
“This isn’t the first one of those. Pearl, you know I care about you, but this has gone on for too long. You’re just too clumsy to have around. Too unreliable.” Elena said flatly.
Pearl held her hands up, she couldn’t get kicked out of this apartment as well. “Okay, but-”
“And this isn’t your only problem.” Elena continued, talking over her, “You make my friends uncomfortable, and honestly I can’t blame them. You’re blunt, you trauma dump, you only ever talk about yourself, and you seriously need to learn some social skills.”
Pearl winced, she knew Elena was right, of course, but Pearl was working on it! She really was, and she had been sure she was improving as well.
Elena opened the door and pointed down the hallway. “You have thirty minutes.”
“Thirty - Elena, come on, I just renewed my part of the lease!”
“Get out.”
Pearl stared at her for a long moment, jaw working, then sighed. “You know what? Fine. Whatever. I didn’t even like this place.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Yeah, well, I’m great at those.”
She retreated to her room, shoving clothes into a box with the speed and efficiency of someone who had, unfortunately, done this far too many times. Books, sweaters, a chipped mug that said World’s Okay-est Human, a tangle of phone chargers. She didn’t bother packing neatly. What was the point?
By the time she staggered back into the hallway with her arms full, Elena was already waiting, keys in hand.
“I’m sorry, Elena,” Pearl said, forcing a smile.
Elena didn’t smile back.
The door closed behind her.
Pearl stood in the hallway for a second, then another, then sighed and fumbled her phone out of her pocket.
There was only one contact she could call at this point.
It rang twice.
“…Pearl,” Grian said, voice heavy with the exact tone of someone who already knew. “What did you do?”
Pearl winced. “Hello to you too.”
“Pearl.”
“I got kicked out.”
A pause. A long one. She could practically hear him pinching the bridge of his nose.
“That’s the seventh time,” he said slowly.
“Technically the sixth and a half. One of them was more of a mutual agreement.”
“You spilled coffee over their Gaming set-up”
“Accidentally!”
Another sigh, deeper this time. “Where are you?”
Pearl glanced down the hallway, then at the box cutting painfully into her arms. “Uh. Third floor. Maple Street..”
“Stay there,” Grian said. “I’m coming to get you.”
Grian’s car pulled up twenty minutes later, the back seat perpetually cluttered with sketchbooks, loose papers and somewhere in the mess a brown hoodie with a sunflower print that Pearl knew didn’t belong to Grian. Pearl dumped her box into the trunk and climbed into the passenger seat with a groan.
“Please tell me you’re not going to lecture me,” she said, slumping down, a frown on her face.
Grian pulled away from the curb. “I’m absolutely going to lecture you.”
She sighed, turning towards the window. “As if I haven’t already been scolded enough today.”
In the reflection of the glass, Pearl could see how Grian’s face twisted into pity. She hated that face, the same one every time she ended up like this.
“You cannot keep doing this,” he said, turning his attention back to the wheel. “You can’t just antagonize everyone you live with and expect it to work out.”
“I don’t antagonize them,” Pearl protested. “I just… fuck it up. Every time.”
“That’s- Pearl..” Grian rubbed his forehead.
They drove in silence for a few blocks. Pearl knew he didn’t mean to nag her about it. She always felt misplaced, like some part of her just wasn’t made to be around other people. She should’ve been outcasted long ago.
The city lights blurred past the windows, neon bleeding into puddles on the pavement.
“…You can crash with me tonight,” Grian said finally. “But that’s it. One night. I’ll see what I can do.”
Pearl smiled. “You’re the best brother ever.”
“I am a saint,” he muttered.
His apartment was small but warm, cluttered in a comfortable way. Pearl dumped her stuff by the couch and immediately flopped onto it face-first.
“I swear,” she said into the cushions, “I’m cursed.”
“You’re impulsive,” Grian corrected. “And incapable of keeping certain thoughts to yourself.”
Pearl rolled onto her back. “Those are my best qualities.”
He snorted despite himself and tossed a pillow at her. “Sleep. I’ll start looking in the morning.”
–
Morning came with weak sunlight and the smell of burnt toast.
Pearl sat at the kitchen counter, legs swinging, nursing a mug of coffee while Grian scrolled through listings on his laptop. She watched his expression carefully - she’d been here a thousand times before, studying each furrow of his brow, each quiet hum of disapproval.
“No,” he muttered. “No. Absolutely not. Why is it always a basement?”
Pearl rested her chin in her hands. “You’re doing that face.”
“I hate this face.”
“Means you found something.”
Grian hesitated.
“…Okay,” he said slowly. “So. Full disclosure. Options are… limited.”
Pearl raised an eyebrow. “Define ‘limited.’”
“Well, most landlords want references.”
She grimaced. “Ah.”
“And the ones that don’t,” he continued, “either cost way too much, are in actively condemned buildings, or come with… complications.”
Pearl leaned forward. “What kind of complications?”
Grian closed the laptop. Took a breath.
“I found something,” he said. “But you’re not going to like it one bit.”
By the time Pearl arrived, the room had already been half claimed. One side coated in dark colours and a bed with curtains draped over the side, a feeble attempt at privacy in a shared dorm.
There was a desk in the middle of the room with a stack of leather-bound books on it. The sunlight from the window was blocked by a dark curtain, and a couple bouquets of roses were strung up on the wall, hanging over a shelf..
The other part of the room was untouched, a plain bed with a white mattress.
Pearl shifted her box of belongings onto her hip, letting out a low whistle under her breath. “Woah, someone’s been organized, huh?” She said, tilting her head to the side.
The person on the other side, currently unpacking the last of her stuff, didn’t even look up. Her pale hand stopped mid-motion, as she very carefully put down a small jewelry box on the vanity, and slowly turned her head.
They finally turned around.
And oh boy.
Pearl had met a great deal of people in her life. None of them had eyes like that. dark red, almost violet with faint gold specks that didn’t even look human.
“Uh- you must be my roommate.” Pearl said, extending her hand for a shake.
“Don’t touch me.”
Pearl blinked, “What?”
“Don’t touch me.” Cleo's tone wasn’t angry, but there was still a cold bite to it that made the hairs of Pearl's neck stand up. It made her feel like a cornered cat.
The abrupt end of their dialogue made Pearl hesitate for a moment before putting down her box of things, and beginning to unpack.
“Right, no touching, got it.” Pearl said, rubbing the back of her neck. She’d already been nervous about living here as a human, but now that her roommate openly seemed to dislike her? Didn’t make her feel any better about her decision.
Pearl started by making her bed, before packing out her books and a couple of plants. She couldn’t really figure out how to read the air between them - it had always been hard for her to pick up on that kind of stuff.
“So…” Pearl tried again, eyeing the roses. “You like flowers? You, uh.. Into botany?” She asked.
“No.”
“Oh. uh, cool.” Pearl said, rubbing the back of her neck.
“I study hematology.” They said,
Pearl gave a small nod. “So like, blood stuff.” She replied. “Interesting choice.”
Cleo’s lip twitched, turning into something between irritation and amusement. “Something like that.” She muttered.
“Nice. I’m in environmental sciences. Guess that makes us like, life-and-death roommates!” Pearl said, laughing at her own joke.
Cleo didn’t laugh, but she did give a small, polite smile, and Pearl took that as a win.
Before Pearl got to try her luck at conversing with her to-be roommate, the door sprung open.
“Hey Cleo, we were wondering if you’d made your choice about the housewarming yet-” A whitehaired vampire stood in the door, looking from Cleo to Pearl to Cleo again. “Oh, what do we have here?” She said, quickly passing through the room to take a closer look at Pearl.
Cleo’s stare had moved from Pearl to this new vampire, which actually made Pearl feel even more uncomfortable.
“You didn’t tell me you were rooming with a human?” They said, turning to Cleo.
“I wasn’t aware of it myself.” Cleo said, though their teeth. Pearl got the sense that whoever this person was, wasn’t as welcome in the dorm as they assumed.
“Just don’t sink your fangs into her, right Cleo?” They said, a huge grin on their face, before she turned to Pearl, holding her hand out. “Soooo, what’s your name, human?”
“Oh, well I’m Pearl, and you are..?” Pearl smiled, taking their hand.
“Oh, my name is Apokuna, but you can call me Apo!” She shook Pearl's hand enthusiastically, holding onto it for a bit longer than was probably necessary.
“Apo, don’t you have someone else to pester?” Cleo budged in. Even someone as socially suicidal as Pearl could feel that Cleo did not want Apo in here, yet Apo just turned to her and blinked.
“No Cleo, I do not, and I find it greatly offensive of you to ask me to leave so rudely.” Apo turned back to Pearl with a big smile. “Don’t worry, people like to say that I’m pestering or-and annoying them, but in reality I’m doing them a favor, by teaching them how to socialize with the outside world.”
“I wish you needed permission to enter this room.” Cleo sighed, turning away from both of them.
“Don’t worry, this place will grow on you.” Apo said, patting Pearl's shoulder.
“Like mold.” Cleo mumbled, before taking Apo’s hand, and pulling them outside of the dorm, shutting the door harshly behind her.
Pearl was left standing in the half decorated room. She still had things to unpack, yet she didn’t make a move towards any of her boxes. Instead she pulled out her phone and called Grian again.
The phone rang for a couple of seconds before Grian’s voice cut through, “Hey sis, what’s up?”
Pearl smiled, leaning her head back and sighing.
“I have a feeling my roommate hates me.” She said, pressing the speaker icon on her phone, and setting it down on the desk.
“Oh, well the good part is you only really have to sleep in there, right?” He said, the background noise of a café in the background.
“I guess that’s true.” Pearl said, pulling out the last of her stuff, and beginning to find a place for it between the shelves and other furniture. “It'd still be better for me to get along with them though.”
Pearl could imagine Grian nodding along while she spoke. Sometimes she missed living with him and their parents. It seemed insane to her that they’d already been moved out for the better part of 6 years now. Growing up felt like that sometimes, always looking back and reminiscing on how far you’ve come.
“Maybe you just need to give her some time.” Grian offered, “People don’t always like you at first, and that’s okay.”
“Easy for you to say, everyone likes you.” Pearl replied, sliding the last book into place on her shelf.
“That is so not true, and you know it.” Grian laughed, his voice full of warmth. “I’m sure you’ll fall into place just fine.”
---
By the time dark had fallen over the castle, it seemed more alive than it had been during the day. Vampires roamed the halls, walking to and from different rooms. The common area was buzzing with low conversation and laughter. Pearl walked around for a bit, feeling sleep grabbing at her as midnight approached.
She hadn’t seen Cleo after they’d dragged Apo out of their room, but she also couldn’t find them anywhere on the castle grounds.
“Pearl!” Apo came up from behind her, and grabbed her arm. “I was wondering when you were going to come out of that dull room of yours!” She said, already dragging Pearl along with her.
“Hey- uh, Apo!” Pearl exclaimed, stumbling along behind the enthusiastic vampire, “Where are we going?”
“Me and Shelby arranged a welcoming party for you!” Apo said, clearly trying to hide the excitement in her voice. “Although… we did think you were going to be a vampire when we planned it. But that doesn’t matter, it’ll still be fun!”
Pearl got dragged into a room that looked quite a lot like hers and Cleo’s, just a bit bigger, with three beds instead of two. The door was desperately holding onto the hinge with its last strength, and inside was a very obvious party going on. People stood in small crowds, a group on the sofa, and some scattered over the three beds.
Apo walked Pearl over to what she assumed was Apo’s bed. There sat a girl with long white hair, and a slim black dress with lace shoulders. She was accompanied by a blonde guy with a white shirt and a black shoulder cover.
“Hey Shelby, hey Martyn!” Apo greeted the two, jumping into the bed and making herself comfortable. “This is our guest of honor, Pearl. She’s Cleo’s new human.”
Martyn gave Pearl a once over, and then turned his attention to Apo. “I didn’t think Cleo would be allowed another one.” He said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Excuse me?” Pearl raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
Martyn shrugged, and Shebly just gave her a look she couldn’t quite place. “Oh nothing, Cleo just has quite the sweet tooth.” Shebly said, patting the spot beside her for Pearl to sit.
Pearl frowned. “Sweet tooth?”
Martyn leaned back against the footboard, eyes glinting. “You know. For the... richer things in life.”
Pearl blinked, completely lost. “Like... fancy food?”
Shelby wheezed with laughter. “Oh, this is so good.”
“Oh,” Apo gave a sympathetic look, “You’re adorable, Pearl.”
A vampire wearing a black butler-type outfit came by with a plate and some red champagne drinks, holding it out to the four. Pearl watched as both Apo and Shebly took a drink, before she reached out for one.
“You really want to put that down.” Sahelby said, putting her hand over Pearls and guiding the glass back onto the plate.
“Oh.” Pearl replied, letting go of the glass. “Oh.”
Shelby snickered, giving her a nod. “Quick tip, don’t ever accept a drink you don’t know what’s in, especially from some of the other vamps here, they like to play pranks.”
Pearl nodded, looking around the room. She could definitely see some of these people as the type to pull off such a ‘prank’. Pearl had always been told not to judge a book by its cover, but that seemed to be the best method in a setting such as this.
Small talk once again filled the space between the three vampires and Pearl, but Pearl didn’t really pay attention to their words anymore, they just filled a static in the background as she thought back on the events of the day.
Pearl was pulled back out of her thoughts by Shelby putting her hand on Pearl's arm. The entire dorm room had gone quiet, all eyes set some place behind Pearl. A shudder went through her, as she turned her head to see a brooding Cleo standing in the open door. They were staring directly at Pearl, almost piercing through her skull.
One second she’d been sitting on the bed next to Shelby, and the next Cleo had an iron grip on her arm, and pulled her out of the dorm.
“Ow- y’know I’m really starting to feel like a little kid with all this pushing me around that has happened today.” Pearl mumbled, but Cleo seemed to have no reaction to that whatsoever, silently staring ahead and not stopping for anything.
“Come on Cleo! We were just messing with the human-” Pearl could hear a voice she didn’t recognize yell out from behind her.
Cleo turned her head, “Wasn’t funny.” She said, her voice firm and strict. Pearl got the sense that the other vampires had overstepped some kind of unknown boundary that Cleo had set for them, but Pearl had no idea what that boundary might be, and she was unsure whether she was allowed to question it or not.
Cleo didn’t stop to explain anything until they were back in their own dorm. She shut the door with a lot more force that was needed.
“What were you thinking?” She questioned, pointing a finger in Pearl's face. “You should never go to an event like that. Not with Apo, and definitely not with Owen as a host.”
Pearl held her hands up. “I don’t even know who Owen is, okay? I’m sorry you’re upset, but I’m allowed to do what I want.” She said, furrowing her brows. “Besides, with what I’ve heard you’re not that safe to be around either.”
Cleo froze up, her shoulders tightening uncomfortably much. She dropped her hand to her side. “Don’t talk about things you have no idea about.” Cleo said, her voice dulled, and more emotionless than before, but it made Pearl feel guilty to have even brought it up. “Rumors spread like wild-fire around here, and half of them aren’t true.”
Cleo sighed, walking around the room, getting more frustrated with herself.
“And you’re a newcomer, you certainly have no idea-” She took a deep breath. She snapped her head over to Pearl again. “I’m going to make sure nothing happens to you while you are staying here.” She took a step towards Pearl, her eyes jittering all over the room. They looked so bewildered it made her look even more beautiful. “I can’t have another human’s blood fall on my hands. You understand, right?”
Pearl understood better than anyone how it felt to have made a mistake so grave there was no coming back from it, but she didn’t want to burden Cleo with that, she wasn’t going to shamelessly and needlessly traumadump to her new roommate.
“I understand..” Pearl said, taking off her shoes. Cleo looked surprised at how quickly Pearl agreed.
Pearl walked towards her bed, sitting down on the edge. “I’m not exactly safe to be around either.” She said, “I mean, I don’t mean to be this way, but I often hurt people. Accidentally.”
Cleo’s expression softened, she walked over and sat down next to Pearl. “I think we might be more alike than I originally thought.”