Danny was back and finished turning into a furry beast for the time being, which was great, because that meant they could hang out. Danny still looked at her like she thought Laura would try and eat her at any moment (which she totally wouldn't, by the way, even though Danny did smell very good), but movie night was still nice. LaFontaine was sitting with their back to the couch munching popcorn, and Laura was absently playing with their hair as they all talked over the movie. The Amazing Spiderman really wasn't that amazing.

"She let you bite her? Wow, that's practically like marriage for vampires." Aiko was practically sitting on Danny's lap, her left leg still in a cast. The two seemed to have hit it off after the small war, if all the necking was anything to go by.

Laura squirmed a bit. "Well, not let exactly… more like she didn't protest a lot?"

They all stilled at that. "I was hungry! And I said I was sorry after the first time!"

"Right." Aiko squinted at her.

Laura scoffed. "You know what would be like marriage? If she actually picked her clothes off the floor," LaFontaine gave Laura a wounded look over their shoulder when she tugged a bit too hard at their hair. "and stopped dragging her secret pet in to leave hairs everywhere. Or whatever. Honestly, has she always been this messy?"

Danny dragged her eyes away from Emma Stone for a moment. "Laura, those people are really dangerous. You shouldn't trust Carmilla any more than you have to, and especially not the Dean. They were the ones who made people disappear, not the outsiders."

LaFontaine shrugged, relaxing again when Laura patted their head in apology. "If she hasn't hurt Laura so far, I'd say she's pretty safe." Danny opened her mouth as if to protest, but LaFontaine continued, "You're part of their clan now, right? What was the trial like?"

Laura grimaced faintly. "Awkward, but sort of nice? I'm apparently Carmilla's responsibility in some weird way because she told everyone she turned me, and I have to follow some old code in Austrian and call the Dean Countess Hainaut whenever we're alone. She said I was lucky two of them died during the 'conflict'" Laura made citation marks with her fingers. "leaving an opening for me. They're totally creepy, honestly, and they're really into blood rituals. Also, she said they'd stake me and bury me alive if I revealed any of their secrets."

"Yikes." Aiko stared at Laura.

There was a silence, in which Danny made her 'I told you so' face in multiple directions.

Laura took a careful sip from her mug of water. "Wow, so that Spiderman really is very spidery, huh?"

Perry returned after two months, as springy as ever, and completely in denial of anything supernatural ever happening at Silas University, otherwise known as the most normal place on Earth. This, of course, meant that her friends would take care to mention said supernatural happenings as much as possible in her presence. Laura actually felt sorry for her where she sat beside LaFontaine, primly eating her sandwich.

"So where did the dragon go? It was gone when the police arrived, right?" Aiko grinned widely.

"It was more of a wyvern, really. The Ó Dálaighs bring them for special occasions." Carmilla popped a piece of sausage into her mouth. Being old apparently made her able to eat and walk in sunlight. The unfairness of it all. "We dragged it down into the catacombs and toasted it."

"But fire cannot kill a dragon~" Sometimes, Laura wondered what Danny saw in Aiko.

"What?! We have catacombs? Why has no one told me of this?" LaFontaine slammed their fork down on the table.

"You would know if you ever went on any patrols with us instead of holing yourself up in the new lab." Danny gave LaFontaine an unimpressed look. Laura hoped they wouldn't get into another fight.

"Girls… I mean, people…" Perry gave LaFontaine a quick look. "I think we can all agree that there was no dragon. The terrorists-"

Laura quickly cut in before Perry started reciting media sources again. "I wish I'd gotten to see it. Wow, a real dragon…"

"This is a dream come true!", Aiko cut in. Danny snorted, and the two giggled like middleschool kids.

"Really, Aiko?" Laura glared at them both, but when Carmilla slid behind her chair and casually stroked a hand down her arm she found herself unable to stay annoyed.

LaFontaine, ever the inquisitive one, asked carefully, "Sooo, will Betty and the others be back soon?"

Carmilla's smile faded. "Nope. They never come back." Laura nudged her and she looked away, dark eyes distant. "Sorry, Beaker."

Laura's dad did not take it well. The terrorist attack, Laura's sudden sun allergy and the delinquent Philosophy major girlfriend combined convinced him that Silas University was made of evil. While this in itself wasn't an incorrect notion even in the literal sense, it lead to Laura's fundings being cut abruptly and a written order (really, dad?) to get her butt back home. His surprise visit wasn't made better by his constant sneezing and asking where they were hiding the cat, which was something Laura had started to wonder as well.

A mysterious scholarship appeared within days to make up for the lost resources. Vampires sure knew how to organize.

"Is it really that bad, Cupcake?"

Laura looked up at Carmilla and then nuzzled into her neck. The warmth really helped. She never wanted to feel cold again. "I guess it isn't." She let out a small laugh. "Twenty years until next time, huh?"

"Sure is, Sweetie." Carmilla's voice was a low purr.

"Will you clean the bathroom until then?"

"Nope."

"I hate you."