Julie sat in front of the window of her room, staring at the trees and the darkness that faced her room. Several minutes had passed since Roman had left, and she sat there with a dazed look in her eyes. Her sleep was out of the window, and it didn't look like it was going to return anytime soon.

  She brought her hand up near her face, touching her lips with her fingers.

  The memory of Roman's lips on hers was still fresh as if she was still being kissed, and her heart shuddered at the memory of it. The redness that had appeared in her cheeks earlier had not left her.

  Roman was sexually attractive, and though he wasn't her type initially, she didn't expect herself to be attracted to him. Julie placed her hands on her cheeks, feeling how warm her face turned.

  While she was daydreaming, with her head in the clouds, she heard footsteps outside the dorm. Before Julie had the opportunity to stick her head out to check who it was, she met the least expected visitor of the day. It was the counsellor Mr. Evans.

  The blood that had rushed up to her face quickly drained down. He came to stand in front of her window that she had closed but hadn't drawn the curtain. Awkwardly, she dropped her hands from her cheek and gave him an uncomfortable smile.

  Mr. Evans said, "I see you haven't slept, Ms. Winters." His voice came muffled because of the window pane between them.

  "I-I was looking at the stars," replied Julie, looking up at the sky, and she noticed that it was now covered with clouds. Mr. Evans glanced at the sky before turning to look at her.

  "It is midnight, and if I am not wrong, you have classes tomorrow morning like everyone else. I would advise you to sleep unless you are waiting for someone," Mr. Evans eyes' subtly narrowed.

  The man looked left and right around him to check if any student was lurking outside and would make an appearance. Julie was glad that Roman had left her dorm in time, else they would have both been caught by this troublesome counsellor.

  Julie laughed, telling herself there was no need to be nervous. She said, "It is midnight, why would anyone come to visit me? All my friends have already gone to sleep. The only thing that would visit me is a ghost."

  The counsellor stared at her before saying, "That's good to hear, else you would end up having more detention on your plate. Goodnight, Ms. Winters," he offered her a smile and walked away from there. Julie quickly drew the curtains, ensuring the counsellor had left, and she finally slipped inside her covers.

  "It feels like being in prison with the way the management acts," muttered Julie, pulling the cover closer to her face. "I still have my suspicions of them being into the drug mafia."

  She remembered the night of Hallow when the boy had taken some substance and had behaved as if he were possessed by a ghost of the forest.

  Turning on one side of her bed, Julie's eyes lowered, and she placed her hand on her heart. Even though Roman wasn't here, the thought of him had her heart racing.

  The next morning, as Julie woke up while still on the bed, she stretched her hands and legs. With a faint smile on her face, she pulled the pillow towards her. Her eyes fluttered open, a sliver of anxiousness in her chest, at the uncertainty of what might happen today. How was she supposed to react when she would meet Roman?

  She would think about it later, thought Julie to herself, and when she turned to look at the clock, her eyes widened at the time. In a hurry to get up, she turned, to only fall out of bed and on the ground with her blanket, "Ouch!"

  She was late! She hadn't realized that she had overslept, and she quickly picked up her toilet kit with a towel before running out of her dorm towards the common bathroom. Finishing as quick as she could, she ran out of the common bathroom, her hair dripping with water.

  On her way in the corridor, she met Melanie, who was already dressed and carrying a bag over her shoulder.

  "Don't wait for me, Mel! Go ahead, I will catch up with you soon," Julie let Melanie know.

  "You sure? I can wait," Melanie offered, but Julie shook her head.

  "Go on, don't be late because of me," she offered Melanie a smile and then disappeared inside her dorm to wear clothes.

  Today's second class was important, and if Julie failed to make it inside the building for the first period, she would miss three classes in a row. Wearing her jeans and a top, she wore her sweater over it.

  Quickly stepping out of her dorm with her bag over her shoulder, she locked the dorm door before running out of the girl's Dormitorium. She continued to run until she reached the gates where a guard was about to close it.

  "Wait!" Julie shouted, with her hands raised in the air. When she finally squeezed her way through the two gates, she finally caught hold of her breath. "Thank God," she wheezed, her upper body leaned forward with her hands placed on her knees.

  There were still students inside the gates who were walking towards the building. Her breath was laboured, and she tried to even it as she headed inside the building, walking towards the stairs. She started to climb it.

  Julie ignored the stares that she received on her way as she had to head to her class. Looking at her watch, she noticed there were still eight minutes before the bell would ring. And as she continued to climb, she realized her shoulders were wet. In a hurry, she had failed to dry her hair, and it had resulted in her sweater turning wet.

  When Julie reached the last stairs of the floor where her classroom was located, she couldn't help but turn her head to look in the direction Roman's classroom was located. He was missing from his usual spot, and it made her wonder if he had perhaps decided to skip his classes again.

  "Looking for me?"

  Julie's head snapped around to look behind her. She saw Roman climbing up the stairs. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him.

  Roman was in his usual black shirt and ripped jeans, his hair unruly and his gaze fixed on her. His one hand held the strap of a bag that hung on one of his shoulders. He came to stand at the top of the stair, his height towering her as he came to stand in front of her.

  Act normal, Julie whispered to herself in her mind so that she wouldn't run away like a coward.

  "You are also running late," said Julie, her eyes slightly wide and her breathing still getting back to normal with the way she had hurried here.

  "Mm," Roman responded, his eyes catching sight of her wet hair. Without any hesitation, he brought his hand up to touch the ends of her wet hair. "Didn't find time to dry your hair?" When he did something like this, it felt too intimate to her and she turned slightly breathless.

  "I overslept," murmured Julie, breaking eye contact with him, which was intense, and she looked around them to see some of the students, who were watching them from the corner of their eyes.

  Roman didn't care about the other students, ignoring their very existence and focusing only on the person who stood in front of him. Noticing her wet sweater, he said, "Take off your sweater."

  "Why?" Julie asked him, alarmed. At the same time, she sneezed, "Achoo!" Her hands covered her lower face, and looked at him, who stared back at her.

  "Wet hair, wet sweater. You are going to catch a fever," and Roman raised his hand as if asking her to hand over her sweater to him.

  "Don't worry about the scar on your wrist."

  Without a word, Roman took hold of her bag on her shoulder, which was enough for others who saw this look at him in shock. Roman Moltenore was holding someone else's bag?! Their mouths were left open. Students who walked past them only received one look from Roman, which was enough to walk faster.

  Carefully, Julie removed her sweater and noticed his eyes fall on the shoulders of her top. She held her sweater in her hand, and she took her bag from Roman.

  Julie watched Roman pull out the brown leather wristbands that were around his wrist. Picking up her hand, he slipped them on her wrist that had the scar. Tightening the wrist bands, he finally let go of her hand.

  He looked up at her and said, "A temporary fix without having to hide yourself entirely."

  Touched by his quick gesture, Julie met his eyes and said, "Thank you." Feeling his unwavering gaze that barely left her, she asked him, "Are you going to skip any classes today?"

  "Why? Do you plan to skip one or more of them?" inquired Roman, his eyes picking up the way her face looked paler than usual, with the background of her hair looking dark because of its wetness.

  "I am not so brave to jump from this floor to the ground floor," replied Julie and Roman's lips turned to offer her a crooked smile.

  "You don't have to jump outside the window to skip classes. There's the restrooms and not to mention the little janitor closets which you have already been in," Roman gave her some tips on skipping class, and Julie stared at him.

  Julie looked around, noticing one of the teachers making her way from the below floor through the stairs. She turned back to look at Roman, "You shouldn't give such advice to your juniors. If any teacher catches you saying it, they are going to give you more than a detention." The bell rang loud enough for the students to know that it was time to get inside their classrooms.

  "You were the one curious to know if I am skipping class," said Roman. Raising his hand, he smoothed her hair at the side and said, "If I skip class, I will come to get you."

  "Don't do that!" but Roman had already started to walk towards his classroom and disappeared into the room. Bringing her hand forward, she looked at the wristbands that belonged to him.

  Before any teacher would catch her standing idle with the bell rung, Julie quickly made her way towards her classroom. Taking her seat, she met Melanie, who was reading a book.

  "I am sorry, I couldn't walk with you here in the morning," whispered Julie, and Melanie smiled.

  "That's fine. I am happy that you were able to make it here in such a short time. Did you stay up long last night?" asked Melanie, and Julie nodded her head. And even though Julie wanted to share a little about what had happened yesterday with Melanie, she felt it would be insensitive to be speaking about herself when her friend was heartbroken.

  "Are you doing alright?" Julie placed her hand on Melanie's shoulder. It was apparent that Melanie had cried last night because her eyes looked swollen.

  Melanie let out a sigh, "I wished I knew it sooner. If there's anyone to blame… it is me for not letting him know when I noticed it," Melanie looked down at her book with a sad smile. "It makes me realize how important timing is. If we miss it, then it is gone and someone else takes the spot. I am okay. Let's not mention anything about this to Conner," she had an awkward smile, and Julie gave her a nod.

  "I won't," promised Julie.

  When the class started, Julie couldn't help but ponder upon what Melanie said. It was true, timing was important when it came to two people's feelings, to have the same feelings and connection at the same time for things to work between them. Maybe no one would be able to find out… if Conner would have said a yes or no to Melanie, but right now, he was with another girl and happy.

  Her hand reached to touch the bands on her wrist, touching the leather-like texture which Roman often wore around his wrist, which now covered the scars on her own wrist.

  'I will steal you.'

  How could such simple words cause a swirl of emotions in her? Julie asked herself.

  For someone who liked to disfigure people's faces, he sure was observant to tell her to remove her sweater and offer his wristbands to her. It felt like months had passed since she felt like she was being cared for. His actions were shaking her resolve to not fall in love.

  In the past, it wasn't like Julie hadn't dreamt of having a boyfriend. Someone to walk home with, to share things, to have lunch together. But remembering how things had gone, her face turned sour. In the drain, that was right. Any possibility of her having any male attention on her had disappeared once Natalie, her ex-best friend, had decided to bully her.

  Julie's mind kept drifting back to the kiss between Roman and her last night. Her feet that had been placed flat on the ground, it drew back, letting it balance on the tip of her toe.

  She remembered the way his fingers felt on her skin, the way Roman had held her in his arms, and his hand tangled in her hair. His lips on hers felt warm and soft. Just thinking about it, it felt like her mind had tried to dip her feet into the pool of sinful pleasure that he was ready to offer to her.

  During the break between the classes, Julie stepped out of the classroom with Melanie and went to visit the restroom. Julie was in one of the stalls when she heard the voices of students who entered. Someone said,

  "…… you would think that he would have found a better girlfriend for himself."

  Julie heard another girl laugh and said, "That's why everyone says love is blind. I mean why would a person like Roman Moltenore fall for someone so plain. He's handsome, has good grades, and comes from a wealthy family."

  Hearing Roman's name, Julie's ears perked up, and though she couldn't see who was speaking, she couldn't help but listen to the conversation. She raised her hand, pointing her finger to herself in thought.

  "Is it true? That she's always seen in a ragged sweater?"

  "Someone said that they saw her wearing one that looked like a gunny bag," laughed another girl, "What a waste of his good looks. If I knew that was his taste I would have tried dressing similar to her to gain his attention. But maybe he's only fooling around, I mean how many girls he's been with."

  "You mean this girl is just a playtoy? Who knows, might be. I mean, he's always had such beautiful girls, he's probably trying something new. Did you hear what Eleanor said? Something about the girl being smarter than she appears, that she tricked everyone—" The girl's words were interrupted when Julie opened the stalls door with a loud sound and stepped outside with a passive look on her face.

  Julie had removed her glasses, hooking it in the back of her jeans, and she walked to one of the basins that was free. Not two seconds later, Melanie stepped outside with a small frown on her face.

  The girls who had been gossiping didn't care to take a better look at Julie. Her sweater was in the classroom. The first girl said, "Anyways what was I saying? Yes, someone said her classroom was on the same floor, that's how they met."

  "It makes you jealous, doesn't it?" laughed the second girl.

  Julie washed her hands with a passive expression on her face. Melanie walked to where she was and whispered, "Congratulations on being his girlfriend," Hearing this, Julie quickly waved her hand and shook her head.

  "It's not like that!" she said in a low voice. But Melanie only smiled as if she was teasing her.

  The girls here seemed to be in their freshman year, and in curiosity, one of the girls said, "I want to see this person, which is her classroom?"

  Oh, God, thought Julie to herself. Kill me!

  The last thing she needed was turning into a museum piece of Veteris. Why did Roman have to go telling things out in front of everyone? Her face scrunched, and Julie splashed water on her face multiple times.

  "I know where her classroom is," said another, trying to be helpful, and Julie sighed when they left the restroom.

  Melanie laughed after a very long time since last evening. She said, "I cannot believe how blind the freshman can be. We live in almost the same Dormitorium, I cannot wait to see their expression when their dull brains catches up."

  "I feel very nervous, Mel. And not the good kind," Julie sighed with a worried look on her face.

  "Don't worry, it will die down like many other things. For now you will have to deal with it. Roman really put you on highlight along with him," Melanie patted her back before they stepped out of the restroom. On their way, Melanie said in a low voice, "The girls probably missed what happened yesterday at the bonfire."

  Julie smoothened her top as they walked through the corridor, making their way towards their classroom. On their way came Roman's classroom. She noticed him standing outside with his friend and another boy, whom Julie pegged to be a classmate.

  Roman's one leg was placed flat on the wall and the other on the ground. His one hand rested on his raised leg, and the other one in his pocket.

  Simon said, "Tomorrow is the first football match. And the final match will be during the annual day of Veteris. Piper must have asked to rearrange the dates so that the play could be held first and then game. Else there will be a bunch of bruised characters on the stage. I thought Dante was going to make five teams."

  "The management committee decided to go with four teams. Not to mention the fifth team was a terrible one," remarked Roman, "With just young vampires, they were worried it might cause an issue."

  Simon chuckled, "Of course, that is because all the players have already been picked. I can already feel the excitement."

  "To break people's bones," stated Roman, a smirk came to form on his lips. "Griffin and Jackson have been getting their players to practice on the football field."

  "What about our players?" questioned their classmate, who was also a vampire.

  "Take them to the forest. A few obstructions is always good so that they know how to avoid banging their head against the trees. Especially the younger ones," ordered Roman, his eyes flickering between black and red.

  Simon, who had turned to look at the corridor to glance at the students, noticed the two human girls. His eyes fell on Julie's hand, and he grinned, "I was wondering if you threw your wrist bands, Rome. But it looks like someone else is using it."

  Roman's eyes followed the direction where Simon was looking, and he caught sight of Julie walking with her friend in the corridor. Her hair looked all dry and even combed. Though her eyes were looking ahead, he could tell that she was well aware of his gaze on her. He didn't stop her and watched her get back to her classroom.

  "Looks like you scared her quite well last night," commented Simon, his eyebrows raised and a continued grin on his lips.

  "I doubt that's the case," responded Roman calmly, one corner of his lips tugging.

  When his eyes fell on Simon, the small smile that had appeared lowered down, his eyes were quick to hold annoyance. "If you keep smiling that way people are going to believe that you and Evans are related to each other."

  "How rude," muttered Simon under his breath. "I was only being happy for my dear friend." Roman rolled his eyes before stepping back inside the classroom.

  During the lunch break, most of the students had left the Blue block and had headed towards the lunchroom. Julie sat at the table with Melanie, Conner, and Conner's girlfriend, Reese.

  "I don't think I would be able to catch a free table during the peak hours. It is always so hard to get a free table," said Reese with a smile on her face.

  Conner then explained, "Reese used to have her lunch packed in the morning and then have it at noon in the lawn area."

  "Alone?" asked Melanie, curiosity getting the best of her.

  Reese nodded her head, "It was easier to finish meals quickly and get back to work." Julie didn't know whom to feel bad for, who was at the table. "I mean I do have a few friends from the Dormitorium, but everyone gets so busy and has different majors."

  "From now on you don't have to eat alone and by yourself. We have our meals together and the girls are always quick at catching a table. Even if I am busy, Melanie and Julie will be here and you can join them," suggested Conner. Julie's eyes moved to the corner to see Melanie, she saw her friend glared at Conner. "Isn't that right?"

  Julie nodded her head, "Yeah, you can always join us."

  "Yeah," murmured Melanie with a small smile on her lips. She turned to look at the counter and said, "Let me go and get the meal."

  "I will come with you," offered Conner, but before leaving the table, he turned to look at Reese and asked her, "What do you want?"

  "I will have what you are having," chirped Reese, and Conner laughed. Melanie's face contorted as if she was going to fall sick, and she turned to look in the other direction.

  "How about you, Julie?" asked Conner.

  "I will get mine later once you both come back. Until then Reese and I will hold the fort," said Julie, and she saw her two friends make their way to the counter, which was somewhere crowded.

  Julie's eyes looked around the room, searching for Roman. She had not dared to look at him earlier in the corridor, but here she was now, looking for him.

  But while trying to look for Roman, her eyes met everyone else's eyes, that she had no intention to look at. Eleanor sat not too far from where Julie's table was located, and also Caleb. Looking away, Julie guessed that Roman was skipping lunch today. She felt a sliver of emptiness that seeped into her chest, an uneasiness.

  While waiting, Dennis appeared at the table. He greeted her,? "Good afternoon, Julianne."

  "Hey, Dennis," Julie returned his greetings. Seeing him holding his tray of meal, she said, "Sit down. Mel and Conner have gone to get their meals." Dennis nodded his head, when his eyes fell on Reese, Julie introduced her, "This is Reese. Conner's girlfriend."

  Dennis offered Reese a small nod as if that was the right etiquette, and he offered her a smile, "It is good to meet you. I am Dennis."

  "Hello," Reese smiled. Dennis didn't sit next to either of the girls as Conner and Melanie's bags hung behind the chairs, and he decided to sit on the third side of the table, which allowed him to sit next to Julie. Reese asked him, "I don't think I saw you yesterday at the Bonfire."

  "I don't attend the Bonfires," replied Dennis with a prim and proper voice and expression on his face as if those things were meaningless. Reese only nodded her head, and her eyes went back, looking in the direction where Conner was.

  Julie quietly sat with a bottle of water in her hand, tapping the top when she heard Dennis ask her, "Are you not going to get your meal?"

  "I will go and get it once Mel is back," replied Julie in a polite tone, and then she said, "You don't have to wait for us to eat. Go ahead."

  "I would find it very rude to eat all alone without sharing," Dennis first turned to look at Reese, who waved her hand in front of her as if she was fine. He then placed his meal in front of Julie and said, "You can eat whatever you like."

  Julie had not expected Dennis to sacrifice his meal for her. With a polite smile, she said to him, "I am fine, Dennis. I am not that hungry." Which was a lie because she had skipped her breakfast.

  Dennis didn't let go of his hand on his tray. He offered her a kind smile, watching her through his glasses, "Don't worry about me. I can get another meal."

  Suddenly before Julie could say anything, another tray of meal was placed on the table with a light thud next to Dennis' meal. Turning to her right, she found Roman standing there with his hands on the table. In less than a second, he took the seat that belonged to Melanie so that he could sit next to her.

  Roman then pushed his tray, which in turn pushed Dennis's tray back to the number two boy, and just like that, the meal in front of Julie had been replaced by Roman.

  Julie stared at Roman, not knowing what he was doing here because the meal in front of her didn't look like something he ate. Guiltily, she admitted to how she had unknowingly noted what he ate when he was in the lunchroom. He placed his coke can on the table.

  Roman turned to her and stated, "You missed your breakfast, and saw you didn't get your meal yet. Eat this," and some of the people, who had been trying to eavesdrop, turned dumbstruck. "I am drinking my coke, and don't have an appetite for solid food," he added.

  "You didn't have to do that for me," replied Julie, watching him stare back at her.

  "I don't want you sharing meals with a third person. I prefer to buy my girl's meals myself," came the calm words from Roman as if it was something they had been doing for years. Julie was glad that she didn't have anything in her mouth, else she would have spat it out.

  And what was MY girl?!

  As much as she wanted to clear it with Roman, she realized how it helped in keeping people like Dennis and Caleb's intentions away from her. Last weekend, she had heard Caleb's friend's referring to her as Caleb's wife, and she wanted to beat them up.

  Julie leaned closer to Roman and whispered, "You're being too cheesy, Roman."

  "Cheesy would be me going to feed you. Would you like a demo?" Roman asked her, raising the can to his lips while staring at her. He took a sip from it before licking his lips and his tongue took her back to last night.

  Julie didn't try to test him, not knowing if he would really give her a demo.

  On the other hand, Dennis' mouth hung open, seeing Roman had pushed his tray as if it was trash.