[hr][center][h1]|| [color=teal]Irvette Reimer[/color] | [color=slategray]Toby Yazawa[/color] ||[/h1] [/center][hr] [b][code]Eisbeulf University, 08:55 AM[/code][/b] Bagel in mouth and two hands on the handles of her bike, Irvette Reimer was making good time for waking up late as she sped down the road towards the main campus. The university campus sprawled across a few miles as the town, although quaint and sparsely populated, was quite large geographically as it was rumoured to be adapted from an abandoned cathedral. While Irvette wasn't sure as to whether or not that was a good thing--a school built on top of an ancient structure was prime site for hauntings--she didn't count herself a supernatural-believer anyway. [i]Besides,[/i] she figured, [i]ghosts are incorporeal and thus unable to harm humans anyway as they exist on different planes of existence.[/i] Oh how glorious science could be sometimes. [hr] The professor for her first class--Mathematics--was busy writing something on the board as Irvette walked in, swallowing the rest of her bagel and almost choking on the piece as she sat down at a seat towards the left side of the lecture hall. Taking out her notebook and pen, Irvette smoothed down her windblown hair and uncapped her pen before taking a second to look at the people around her. None of her friends were in this class unfortunately--none of them even had classes on Monday, damn the lot of them--and since the semester had only just begun Irvette hadn't had much time to meet new people. Irvette turned towards the boy on her left and smiled a greeting. [color=teal]“Hey! Irvette Reimer, what's your name?”[/color] she asked with a friendly smile. Toby Yazawa was snapped out of his own thoughts at the sound of an unfamiliar female voice. He had been trying hard to ignore the students around him, isolating himself from them. As long as he kept his distance, he could minimize the risk of hurting them... and becoming a monster that had completely lost his mind to the violent instinct. The venom was petrifying more than just his once-mortal body into an almost-undestructable killing machine - it was also freezing his thinking to that of a seventeen-year-old for eternity. Immortality would often cause the person's morality to dull over time, their view towards the value of life becoming more cynical the longer they lived on. Unfortunately, he wasn't invisible and couldn't truly hide away from the few curious stares thrown at him at times; worse, a quick glance at the person next to him told him that it was of the opposite sex, and there was something about this girl that almost made him close his self-control. He was still having some trouble trying to control his bloodthirst, even after taking close to a whole year away from school to adjust to his 'new' life. His life as a [i]vampire[/i]. He still had a couple of months more before he would be able to get out of the 'newborn' state, and hopefully he could have better resistance towards his natural temptation for human blood, that no blood of other animals and creatures alike could ever match with the unparalleled lure of fresh, human blood. He couldn't differentiate if it was Irvette's scent or voice that incited him to have this irresistible desire to lunge for her neck. His fingers dug into the stack of papers his hand was holding onto, the pages crinkled as he tried to restrain himself from pouncing on her - in front of all the other humans in the classroom. Well, he could turn off his sense of smell to stop inhaling the intoxicating scent that was coming from her, but it would look suspicious if he sat too still. He had to put some conscious effort to maintain the rhythmic rise and fall of his shoulders, to keep up with the human act. As he turned his head around slowly to look at her, none of his inner turmoil was written on his smooth, porcelain face. At first glance, he didn't look much different from his peers, but if anyone had stared at him hard enough, they might be curious how oddly poised he was, almost as if he was more of a marble statute than a person. Well, he was pretty much [i]dead[/i] inside out. [i]A wolf wearing a sheep's skin[/i], he thought sarcastically. [color=slategray]"Toby Yazawa,"[/color] he was surprised how his voice came out so calmly while his mind was still locked in a mental struggle between quenching his lust for her blood and the little bit of humanity he had left within him. [color=slategray]"Nice to meet you."[/color] There was a strange, ethereal undertone in his voice that he couldn't get rid of. Another annoying side effect from the transformation. [color=teal]“Nice to meet you too, Toby,”[/color] Irvette said, grinning. Step one complete, now onto step two: consolidating bond as friends, or at least classmates. [color=teal]“Say, what are you majoring in? First year, right? I'm doing bio for pre-med. I'm from the US, if you can tell.”[/color] [color=slategray]"...Yeah,"[/color] Toby replied, somewhat distracted. [color=slategray]"I'm in Computer Science, for programming. Pretty much the opposite of what you're studying, huh."[/color] He permitted himself a small smile at the slight amusement at the difference between their courses before he shrugged, sweeping his scattered stationery closer to him, to put a bit more space between himself and Irvette. Irvette's grin faltered when she realized just how handsome her seatmate was. Pale skin accentuated his features, and Irvette found herself staring at his dark eyes. Was it just her, or did they seem to almost be red? Catching herself, Irvette averted her eyes with a sheepish smile. [color=teal]“Sorry. Um, you're just... really pale,”[/color] she admitted, hoping Toby wouldn't take offense. Irvette had told the truth, partially, and apologized for staring. Still, she wouldn't be surprised if the boy wanted to avoid her from now on. Toby stiffened - this girl was too observant for her own good. He did try to wear contacts to hide the scarlet hue in his iris (most people just didn't have red eyes, and he wasn't even an albino), but his super-enhanced eyesight amplified the flaws on the lenses, which in turn would make him half-blind and uncomfortable. [color=slategray]"I... I guess I just can't get much tan,"[/color] was the only lame answer he could think of as he looked away to face the front. [color=slategray]"It runs in my family; my mu-- [i]sister[/i] is the same too."[/color] No matter how much he kept telling himself to stay away from everybody, including Irevette, his body continued to do the complete opposite, drawing this girl deeper into the trap of his nature. He let out a soft sigh of relief as the professor turned around and began to address the class, starting the lecture proper. He had said too much to her, to a mere stranger who shouldn't come anywhere near him, or even be a part of his 'new' life. As long as she didn't try to talk to him again and leave him alone, everything would be fine... hopefully. He was about to find out how [i]wrong[/i] he was, that this was only the beginning to something more than he could ever dream of...