She's not sure what she was expecting from move-in day, but she definitely wasn't expecting to feel so… lost.

Not so much in the sense of getting turned around in the dorms and having to ask an RA for directions back to her room, although that does happen (twice). More in the sense of not knowing what to do with herself once her parents and sister kiss her goodbye, get back in the car, and drive away.

She watches the car for a little while, ignoring both the sadness and the anxiety that suddenly rise up. When she turns around and walks back into her dorm building, she feels almost detached from herself. She manages to find her room without embarrassing herself, then just stands in the middle of the room and wonders what to do next.

It's not as cramped as she thought, all things considered. It's definitely not big by any stretch of the mind, but it's not as bad as the horror stories her parents had told her of their college dorms. She supposes it's because the lofted beds allow them to push the desks underneath, opening up a little more floor space.

She picks up the picture frame Mal gave to her just hours ago, tracing her fingertips over the photo. She's debating whether she should put it on her desk or her dresser when the door opens and another girl walks in, her arms laden with pillows and bedding. Natara quickly jumps out of the way and allows the girl- her new roommate, she assumes- and her mom to come in, and suddenly the room feels a little more cramped.

"Hi," the girl says, dropping her things in the middle of the floor. "Natara, right?"

"Yeah," she says, placing the frame on her desk and holding out her hand. "You must be Eden?"

"That's me." Eden scoops her things up off the floor again and sidesteps so her mom has room to edge past her. Eden's mom shoots her a quick smile before setting her armful of Eden's things in a corner.

"Do you need any help?" Natara finds herself asking. Eden's mom turns to her and immediately waves her off.

"Oh, don't you worry about that," she says with a smile. "You probably had enough of that moving your own stuff in, we can handle it just fine."

The way she says it, and the way she smiles at her, reminds her so forcefully of Mal's mom that she's briefly overwhelmed by a wave of homesickness. She gives them a thin smile before turning back to her side of the room, determined not to cry within the first six hours of being at college.

Instead, she busies herself by doing anything she can with her hands. She reorganizes her already organized bookshelf, shifts her pens and pencils around on her desk, refolds some of the clothes in her drawers. She pretends it all has to be done, until it no longer feels like there's a lump in her throat threatening to choke her.

Eden turns to her right as she places the photo of her and Mal on her bookshelf. It might be an impractical place for it, but it stands out there, and Natara doesn't want to forget she has it.

"Who's that?" she asks.

"Oh, just me and my boyfriend when we were kids," she says in what she hopes is a casual voice.

"That's so cute," Eden practically squeals. "Are you guys, like, childhood sweethearts?"

Natara shrugs one shoulder. She's not sure what she'd classify them as. Not necessarily childhood sweethearts. Not even high school sweethearts. They hadn't even started officially dating until about three weeks ago. But she's not sure how to explain it all, so she figures not giving Eden a straight answer is probably the easiest route.

"Something like that," she says.

"What's his name?" Eden asks, ignoring the way her mom clears her throat. "Does he go here, too? Oh my gosh, that would be too cute."

"His name is Mal," Natara says, "but he's not a student here. He's actually going to UC Belmont." Her stomach flips as she watches Eden's face twist into a strangely sour expression.

"Wow," she whistles. "You're okay with that?" Natara frowns slightly.

"Well, why wouldn't I be?" she asks.

"It's just so far away," Eden says with a shrug of her own. "It won't be easy to see each other. How are you guys gonna make that work?"

"Well, we can call and write," Natara says. "And I'll see him at Thanksgiving and Christmas." But even she can hear her answer turn into a question.

She hadn't given it much thought, really. Mostly because their schools had already been chosen long before they even graduated high school, much less were dating. And they both understood that they shouldn't, and couldn't, stand in the way of each other's dreams, no matter how far apart their schools were.

"That's pretty brave," Eden sighs before turning back to her side of the room and continuing to unpack. "I don't know that I could do it."


"Mal! Phone!"

He groans and stands from where he's sitting in the attic, popping his back as he stretches. He doesn't bother putting anything back in the box before climbing down the stairs and taking the phone from his sister.

"Hello?"

"Hey," he hears Natara's voice answer. It sounds tinny on the other end of the line, but it makes him smile nonetheless.

"Hey yourself," he says. "I didn't think you'd call till later, figured you'd be busy unpacking and exploring."

"Yeah," she sighs. "I mean I was. But I just…"

She trails off, and in the background he can hear the babble of many voices. That catches his attention, since he figured her dorm room would be at least a little quieter. Definitely less crowded.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," she sighs again. "I just wanted to call and say I miss you." It makes his heart melt a little.

"I miss you, too," he says. "But it's okay. How's college?"

"Big," she says with a half-laugh. "Kind of fancy in a weird way. I got lost in the dorms and the student center."

"Sounds fun," he smirks.

"You'd think so," she says, and he can practically see her shaking her head at him. "Just wait till you get to college, too. Then we'll see if you're saying the same thing." He laughs along with her.

"Not that I'm not thrilled to hear you voice," he says, "but I was working on cleaning out the attic more. You know, before I leave."

"Oh."

"But we can talk later, if you want?" he offers. "You gotta give me the phone number. And your address, too."

"Wait, Mal," she says, and there's a weird urgency to her voice that makes him pause. "We're not crazy, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Trying to date while going to two different colleges and all? It's not crazy, right?"

It's something that's bugged him for a few weeks now. He never had the guts to bring it up, because to do so would have brought up a lot of other conversations about their relationship that he didn't think she was ready for.

He knew it wasn't going to be easy. And he knew that if they were certain their relationship would be fairly short-lived, it might be easier to have a clean break. Truth be told, he wasn't sure where Natara saw things going, or what she wanted.

But he knows what he wants. So when he answers her, there's no doubt in his voice.

"Of course not," he assures her. "People have done long distance before and made it work. And it's not like it's a permanent thing."

"Right," Natara says distantly.

"I mean it," he says. "I believe we can make it work. Do you believe me?"

"Well when you phrase it like that…"

"We're gonna be fine, I promise." In the background, he hears a whistle blow.

"Listen, I gotta go," she says. "Orientation is about to start."

"We're gonna be fine," he repeats. "Go have fun. I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah, I'll call you."