Veins of Desire

I walked into my dorm room for the first time, the scent of cleaner and hardwood hanging in the air. I looked over at my roommate, her nose shoved into her phone already. "Hey, im Raina." I said, introducing myself. "Hey." She replied as she brushed me off. I walked over and set my suitcase down on my bed, then looked out toward the hallway as I heard other students walking by talking a bit too loudly. There was a guy standing directly across the hall, he was leaning against the wall. His eyes were directly on me, but they didn't exactly look happy; rather, he looked more annoyed than anything. He was tall, I would say at least 6'2, and he was lean but definitely strong in his posture. He was wearing black jeans and a grey T-shirt. His hair was dark and was brushed to the side, like the wind had blown it to sit perfectly like that. I blinked and turned back to open my suitcase, then looked back at him. His eyes were still on me, but now his head tilted to the side slightly, like he was both annoyed and confused. A group of students walked by, and then he was gone. "Must have been waiting for them." I thought as I started putting clothes away into a nearby dresser. Mom turned into the room and she smiled at me. “That was the last of the boxes. Are you excited for school to start?” I scoffed. “Definitely not.” I replied. She gave me a hug and said she’d be back soon. Then just like that mom left. Kevin I was moving through the cartyard blending in easily with the groups of freshmen, the groups of laughter. Parents helping their kids get their stuff together and off to their dorms. I hated move-in day...For various reasons. My senses sharpened, and a small scent hit me, something sweet and faintly of copper...blood. My eyes darted to where the scent was coming from, my eyes landing on a woman who had long, wavy hair with bangs that framed her face perfectly. The scent was unlike anything I had smelled in decades, and my chest tightened as my instincts ran to the surface. I had to clench my fists to keep myself from going over and tearing her neck apart right here in front of everyone. Yet that couldn't stop me from following her into the dorms. I spotted her back at the stairwell, her arms still wrapped around a cardboard box that was almost too big for her. She looks ordinary at first glance, but the way her posture is, her an odd determination to carry this oversized box. The way she laughs at other students who are standing around joking with their friends. I moved off of my intended path without realizing it, my feet clearly carrying me off after this woman. I didn't rush; I never have to. My speed with the human speed is very different. Though someone might not realize how fast I would be going if I were to use my full speed, but just normal...They would just think I was running somewhere. I kept the woman within my sight, the way her hair brushes her shoulders as she walks, the urge to taste her nearly overwhelming me. But the way it makes me feel unsettled bothered me more than I would like to admit. I reached outside her dorm room a few moments after she walked into the room. I leaned back against the wall with my arms folded. Inside her room, I watch as she introduces herself to her roommate, another new face I had never seen before, yet she doesn't smell even slightly tasty, with just the regular copper scent coming from her. I watched as the woman unpacked, her heartbeat calling to me, drawing me to her with every movement. I closed my eyes for a moment, fighting my growing hunger, and something far stranger, something warmer, a growing curl deep within my chest. Something I haven't felt in decades, Something I never thought I would feel again. I opened my eyes and there she was, her eyes on mine. Her expression shifts, from surprise to curiosity, then to a flicker of unease. The world narrowed down for a moment, her eyes staring wide into mine, and the predator in me grows quiet. Instead of hunger, I feel a spark of something, something alive, an attraction that I don't want but yet...I still can't shake the feeling. While being lost in her gaze, a loud group of students burst down the hallway, their laughter breaking the moment. My jaw tightened, I straightened slowly, then, as the students walked by, I took that as my chance to push off the wall and disappear into the crowd before that woman could even think to say something.