The Roommate // Camren

Welcome to University Bro!

"Cranston University: a college where dreams are either made into reality, or completely destroyed with the snap of your fingers," Normani- Camila's best friend- announced with a mischievous grin on her face.

The girls had just arrived on the university's campus, Normani had driven Camila there for the orientation all freshman were forced to attend. Normani was even nice enough to offer to go with Camila- she was starting her second year there, so she didn't have to.

Camila's parents couldn't take her there, no matter how much they wanted. Both her mom and dad were on tight working schedules nowadays, and the college she had decided to enroll at was more than a state away.

"Thanks for the burst of confidence, Mani," Camila scolded playfully.

"Like you need any confidence girl. What you need is to unwind, like the first thing you should do when you reach your dorm room is take a relaxing bath."

"Maybe I will."

Normani watched her friend with slight uncertainty out of her peripheral vision as she drove.

"You'll be fine Mila. Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" She asked again.

"I'm sure. Like you just said, I'll be fine. I don't need to be supervised 24/7 like a child, you know," Camila answered.

"I know that. I was making sure, is all. But now that I know you're going through with your decision, I'll back off," She said after finally finding a parking space and completely turning off her car.

"Thank you, for everything. Really, I-"

"No worries girl," Normani interrupted, "You're my bestie. I've known you since elementary school. Why wouldn't I help you every chance I get?"

Camila looked down at her hands quietly.

"I want you to have as much fun here as I have," She added.

Camila finally lifted her gaze, matching Normani's stare. She smiled and held one of her friend's hands in her own, giving it a comforting squeeze before getting out of the car.

Normani soon followed suit, walking with Camila until they reached the main building. "Call me when you're done, and I will help you move your things into your room." She explained, nodding her head in the direction of her car where Camila's belongings were held for the meantime.

"Will do. Bye Mani," the younger girl answered before swiftly walking through the doors of the main building.

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Orientation took longer than expected, and Camila was about ready to hit her head against a wall- boredom will do that to you. After getting tons of info about how things work on campus and her assigned dorm room, Camila called Normani as she made her way toward the room she'd reside at for the rest of the year.

Normani reached the building of Camila's dorm room a little after Camila did. She saw her friend come out and walk in her direction as she found a parking space.

"So, was it as boring as it was last year?" Normani asked, eyebrow raised as she got out of the car.

"Probably worse," Camila said, scrunching up her nose in distaste. Normani chuckled as the two began to unload the car of Camila's things and transport them into her room.

"This is the last of 'em," Normani huffed, placing down a box. Camila had already started to unpack and organize things just the way she liked.

"Nice job Hamilton," Camila beamed, high-fiving her friend and giving her a quick hug. "Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome. Now go take that bath you desperately need before I have to get the water ready for you," Normani threatened playfully.

"Okay, okay. I was getting to that."

"Good. Well, it's getting kind of late so I should probably make my way back to my dorm. See you tomorrow?" the older girl asked, walking backwards slowly.

"Tomorrow. Bye Mani."

"Bye."

And with that, Camila's friend was out the door. The brunette sighed to herself, surveying her room scattered with boxes. Camila was always a very organized person, who didn't like to have anything where it shouldn't be. She tried her best not to think about her messy room and started the water for her relaxing bath. Normani was right, the girl definitely needed this.

Quickly finding an oversized t-shirt and a pair of short shorts (thanks to her amazing packing and organizing skills), Camila went into the bathroom and checked the temperature of the water. When it was finally satisfactory, the girl stripped herself of the day's clothing and slowly lowered herself into the tub.

Camila hissed at the almost scorching water as it enveloped her body, but that was how she preferred it. An increasingly large quantity of bubbles had begun to form on the water's surface, Camila had put in some bath beads earlier, and the girl was enjoying it. She hadn't had a nice bath like this for awhile now, and that made Camila wonder why that was.

When Camila couldn't stand seeing herself turn into a prune anymore, she grudgingly got out of the bathtub and dried herself off. She checked her phone, which was by the sink, to check the time. It was a quarter past eight, so the girl had decided to go ahead and do her bedtime routine. After brushing her teeth, Camila finally left the bathroom and continued unpacking.

The girl had just about everything out of boxes and put up or away when a girl barged into the room and sat on the empty bed across Camila's. The sudden rush of company surprised Camila, she had completely forgotten the fact that she would be living with a stranger, her roommate. Camila had stopped her moving around all-together and quietly sat on the edge of her bed. Neither girl said a thing to each other, but were having a somewhat intriguing perusal.

Camila was mesmerized by the other girl's eyes. They seemed to be many shades of green, with an impossible touch of other faint colors. Looking into them was intense, like staring at the sun, but she couldn't stop staring. She also noticed the girl had a lip ring hanging from the corner of her mouth, which was turned into a slight smirk.

The girl was dressed as if she were the lead singer in a rock band- arms buried under bracelets, black leather pants, simple black tank top, black spiked boots, and a black leather jacket to complete the outfit.

"Who exactly are you and why did you just barge in here like you own the place?" Camila tried to ask nicely, but couldn't hold back a hint of venom in her voice. Rocker chick must've caught it too, for the smirk on her face grew wider.

"I'm Lauren, your roommate."

***
The idea for this story was inspired from binge-watching the entire first season of the Carmilla web series. I'm honestly surprised I'd never thought of it before.

~Katie