Chapter 1.2: Starting Over

"I have literally no idea who you are, or what you're talking about," Theo Serrano mumbled to the vampire provoking him.

It was getting annoying, trying to ignore the woman while standing in the rain without an umbrella in hand. He was at least thankful it wasn't acidic. Still, it was shockingly cold. Clutching onto his school jacket, Theo wondered if the rain would ever stop.

"I'm Faine! Faine! You know me, we sit next to each other in the same exotic literature course." The ginger haired vampire shouted with her fangs barred, sparkling in the light. The woman was a head shorter than himself, with glaring red eyes, and deathly pale skin, the hallmarks of a true blood sucker. Despite that, she was beautiful, in her own way. If only her hair wasn't so messy, as if she just crawled out of bed.

Why then couldn't he remember her? 

Theo sighed to himself, combing his chestnut colored hair back while searching his memory. He looked up toward the sky, bemused by the souring architecture. 

In the beginning, the campus architect envisioned a grand domed cathedral of a structure, a monumental feat of engineering mimicking the far cry of what was once possible. Underneath the dome, there would be enough room to encompass a small town inside. 

Sheltered by the rain, the compound would've been the center of educational learning, a beacon of hope to inspire each generation of students with thoughts of a better future. He failed, almost miserably. The exterior walls were finished, along with the gatehouse, but when he tried to build the dome that would shroud the entire campus grounds, he failed to secure the proper welding materials, or magical charms to support it. So instead, he rushed to create a shrewd patchwork of iron and steel, hoping it would be but a temporary setback until he acquired the funds to properly finish his grand design. He never did. And over time, the acid rain ate through the iron, forcing the campus to remove most the crude overlay. Now when Theo looked up, he saw mostly open sky, with a moderate amount of iron beams, most of which sprouted from the edges of what would've been the bowl of the dome.

"Oh wait, you're the chick who lit the book on fire!" The spark of memory flashed before his mind. The images of someones hair on fire first among them.

"Shut it! Not so loud—" Faine shushed him. "Look, I really need to borrow your textbook, please."

"Just get another one yourself." Theo instinctively reached to protect his belongings.

The vampire seemed frantic. "They're expensive! Can you just lend me yours."

"I need it too. Why mine?"

"C'mon, give a girl a hand pleeeease." Faine dodged his question, pleading with her hands pressed together close to her chest and her eyes full of hope. Even when she was giving him a desperate smile, a single fang poked through her lips. 

"No chance." Theo scratched the back of his neck, growing frustrated.

"You meanie." She stomped her foot on the ground, splashing a puddle of water.

"Sorry, can't help you." Theo tried to wave her off, not interested in loaning his textbook to a mad pyromancer who was prone to 'accidentally' setting her stuff on fire.

Faine continued to follow him, ignoring his attempts to disregard her, and tugging at his sleeve every couple of steps.

"Will you please just stop," Theo groaned.

"Please I don't want to fail." 

"Then you shouldn't have lit your tome on fire." In truth, he couldn't even remember how the incident even started, he was barely paying attention himself.

"It was an accident."

"You were fooling around rather than listening to the lecture." He guessed.

"So, you do remember me!" Faine's voice spiked.

"Vaguely I guess?" He lied, sort of.

"Than you will help me?" Real hope highlighted her voice.

"Why should I?" Theo asked.

"Because I'll owe you a favor." The vampire levitated in midair, hovering to block his path. "Please please please please, I'm begging you."

"Fine here just take it and go away." Instantly regretting his decision, Theo took out the small textbook and threw it to her.

"Thank you! You won't regret this!" And with that she spirited away, hovering three inches off the ground and gliding away as if about to be chased.

Theo stopped dead in his tracks, grumbling to himself for several seconds. "Why did I just do that?"

Sighing to himself, Theo decided that he could always just borrow his roommates' stuff if needed. He started weighing the odds that he'll ever get the book back, and if he would have to find a way to acquire another one. He cursed to himself; all his notes were in that book.

"Stupid vampire," Theo scoffed. 

Each footstep splashed against the cobblestone as he made his way across campus, heading toward the men's dormitory. As he slowly walked, he couldn't help but notice the small elvish garden nearby. There were dandelions growing alongside the roses. Theo's mind wandered while staring at them. Protected from the rain by an overhanging tarp, the small garden's soil was only purified thanks to the elves magics. It wasn't the only one on campus, just about every open space in between the buildings was utilized. Some were used as gardens, others as tiny parks.

He plucked one of the dandelions from the damp earth, and without thinking, continued on his way to the men's dorms. A stray bolt of lightning lit up the sky above as he neared the four-story building, and the earth shook from its impact. It was frighteningly close to the campus wall. He hoped the rain wouldn't suddenly turn more acidic. 

Just as Theo reached the front entrance, he couldn't help but notice a tall succubus exiting the dorm, likely having just spent some time with a boyfriend. Either that or it was a quick fling. He looked at her for a brief second, noting her pink skin and lengthy black hair. 

She eyed him with a mischievous grin as he passed her by.

"Definitely not her." Lorelei's smile was forever carved in his memory, and it was nothing like hers.