Her dad was smiling down at her, and Laura felt calm in his arms- until she heard the screaming. The loud squeak-like noise jolted her from her dream and she clumsily wrestled with her sheets and fell to the floor just before finding the pepper spray and spatula under her mattress. Laura braced herself and glanced around the room only to find her gothic roommate curled up in a ball and perched upon the shelf lining her bed.
"Uh… Carmilla? Why did you wake me up with your screaming?"
Laura's eyes adjusted and she noticed the expression on the vampires face: fear. Laura was genuinely worried now. Considering she was a centuries old nightwalker who could effortlessly lift a 400lb bag or lift and choke Danny, if she was scared, Laura was petrified.
"H-hey Carm… What is it?"
Carmilla's wide eyes met Laura's, and she relaxed slightly. Then the pale girl mumbled something unintelligible.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Carmilla looked down to her left at a black speck and pointed with a shaky finger, "b-beetle."
Laura choked on a laugh- which immediately froze in her throat as she realized Carmilla was honestly scared of this beetle. Laura's racing heart slowed down, no longer worried that she would die tonight.
"Please make it stop."
Laura's heart broke at the sound of her whisper, and she immediately scrambled up and swung the spatula at the small bug. After two failed attempts, she managed to land a blow and kill the beetle. Wearing a triumphant smile she brushed it off of Carmilla's bed only to find the girl had her eyes shut tightly with her arms hugging her knees and knuckles white. Laura shook her head at her in confusion, of all people she has such a mundane weakness. She sat down next to the frightened girl and whispered, "it's okay, it's gone." But she only received acknowledgement once she softly placed a hand on her forearm, which caused Carmilla's eyes to snap open.
"So, do you want to tell me what that was about?"
Carmilla relaxed, and her usual demeanor returned with a disgruntled sigh.
"As long as you don't bring out those puppets again, cupcake."
Laura smiled and agreed, even if slightly disappointed.
"As you know, I was buried in a coffin for decades. Luckily for me, I had some company. There were beetles in the graveyard, searching for food. They chewed holes in the wood, the sound was horrible. I could hear every move they made, the sickening crunch-" Carmilla cringed as if she could still hear it. "The worst part was feeling them crawling over me."
"Well, I'll kill the beetles if you kill everything else?" Laura offered.
Carmilla's lips curled up and she smirked, "Everything else?"
"Well, I don't like beetles, but I can't handle a spider. Or snakes or worms and flies are just so annoying."
"Then I think we have a deal, snowflake."
Carmilla offered her hand, and Laura had trouble letting go. But after she did, she slowly made her way back to her side of their room. Once settled in her bed, she felt something was missing.
"Hey, where's my pillow-"
Laura could see the flash of yellow disappear under Carmilla's sheets, and she smiled to herself. She decided she would steal it back, but only in the morning.