Letters to Romeo

The window curtains had been drawn so as not to let sunlight pass inside the room. Julie laid in her bed with a blanket covering her and her eyes closed. A sudden cough broke through her lips, shaking and rattling her body and her breathing laboured.

When she had woken up this morning, her head felt heavy and her eyes watery. She had been coughing since then, and she was running a fever. Melanie, who had come by her dorm earlier, had brought her breakfast. Julie had dismissed her friend to attend the classes, telling her she would be okay and she would rest in bed.

But even though the food was here, it had been left on the table untouched. Julie wondered how she had fallen sick.

"Achoo!"

Why was she sneezing and coughing?!

Julie had always prided herself to have the healthiest body, that was even after eating all the junk food she could get a hold on. Was it because of her wet hair? Or was it because she had discarded the sweater that her body was used to?

She felt cold, and it felt nice to curl in the bed with the blanket. She wondered which class was going on before she lost her focus and turned to look at the ceiling of the dorm.

She wondered what time it was. Bringing the letter in front of her that Roman had possibly dropped in the morning. It was the second time she was reading it—

'Because of the continuous attacks by the wild animals that lurk in the forest, the faculty of Veteris like to keep a close eye around, than trust others to do the job. But you are right. The people who work for Veteris are loyal to this place.

Evans likes to scare the students, so ignore him unless he directly talks to you outside the dorm. I will be skipping classes today. So I will see you at the bleachers.'

A sigh escaped Julie's lips. She closed her eyes, feeling exhausted even after hours of rest. She placed the letter next to her pillow.

Right now, Julie missed her mother. She missed the warm hand that used to pat her head before checking her temperature gently. If her mother was still alive and everything was alright, she wouldn't be here in this dorm, all alone. With students who were yet to return to the Dormitorium, the place was quiet with little to no noise.

Only if her mother was alive, the thought passed Julie's mind for a hundredth time before a tear slipped from the corner of her eyes. Why? she questioned.

As her thoughts drifted to the time when she had spent with her mother in the past, somewhere in between, Julie fell asleep to only wake up when she heard the door knock. Her eyes tore open, and with great difficulty, she got herself to walk towards the door with the blanket still hanging around her.

Opening it, she saw Melanie at the dorm, who had a worried look on her face.

"How is your fever?" Melanie stepped forward and placed her hand on Julie's forehead.

"I am okay. I think I am getting better," replied Julie, her words barely audible.

Seeing the way Julie looked, Melanie frowned and said, "Your temperature seems to have risen and you look exhausted. Let's go and visit the infirmary, or maybe I can ask Olivia to come here so that she can take a quick look at you."

Julie shook her head, "No, I don't want to do that… I want to slee—" she started coughing, looking away from Melanie. "How were classes?"

"It is alright. I wrote everything I could so that you don't have to feel that you missed anything. You don't have to worry about it," replied Melanie. Glancing at the table, she noticed the untouched food. Seeing Julie cough again, where her lips were pale, Melanie said, "How did you even catch a fever? I didn't notice you were falling sick."

Julie nodded her head in agreement, "Same, Mel. Same. I haven't fallen sick in a very very long time. It must have been yesterday's wet hair." Catching a note of the time, she asked, "Did the football match start?"

Melanie nodded her head, "Conner and Reese are at the bleachers. I thought to come and see how you were doing. Also it gives me a reason to be away from him or them." Julie gave her a small nod.

She hadn't meant to skip watching Roman play, but it seemed like today was not her day.

"You are shivering, Julie," Melanie pointed out, watching Julie pull the blanket closer to her. "Why don't we both have food together and that way you don't feel like you are eating by-", but before she could complete her sentence, Julie passed out on the ground.

Away from the girl's Dormitorium and on the football field, the first match between the two teams was still ongoing. It was between Roman's team and another team which wasn't the team of Griffin. Everyone knew that the Ravens and the Hawks were stronger than the other two teams, and they were more suitable to be played against each other in the finals than in today's match.

It was the second half of the game, where Roman passed the ball to Simon, who made his way towards the goal. The two other players from the opposite team tried to block Simon from moving forward when the ball was passed to another team player.

"Lawson!" Roman shouted, running at the front.

Just when Roman was about to receive the ball, one of the opposite team's players came right in front of him and purposely crashed in front of him, and the boy and Roman fell to the ground. The referee blew his whistle, raising a yellow card at both of them.

"Are you serious?" Roman glared at the referee.

"Watch where you are going man," taunted the vampire who was on the ground. Roman's hand turned into a fist. His eyes narrowed at the freshman, who stared at him with a taunting smile.

Simon came to Roman's side, "Look at the kids trying to pull tricks because they know they are losing. Don't go beating anyone on the field, Rome."

But Roman didn't listen, and instead, he said, "I thought we were going all in. It is time to teach them how to play the game. I thought about keeping some of them in working condition, but it seems like they are desperate to visit the infirmary."

He was already in an irritated mood for not seeing someone at the bleachers stand, and his mood turned even foul.

When the game resumed, the opportunity came where the ball was with the opposite team's player, who was the same person who had crashed into Roman. Roman came right at the front of the person. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Roman took hold of the ball, and while doing that, his feet kicked the boy's ankle in a quick movement that people missed, and he made it past the human, running towards the goal.

The boy felt a crack in his foot and his face scrunched in pain before he fell for real this time.

"My ankle!" the boy cried, clutching his leg.

By then, the goal had already been made, and the referee had missed catching the foul play because Roman had picked the exact time to damage the human's leg when the referee's attention had shifted at a fleeting second.

"Someone help Fredrick to the bleachers and see what's wrong," shouted the referee so that they could continue the game. He turned to the other team's captain and said, "Bring in your extra player to play in Fredrick's place."

Frederick, though in pain, complained to the referee, "Moltenore deserves a red card! He was the one to injure me!"

"I didn't see him kick you out of purpose. He only snatched the ball from you," stated the referee. Once the boy was taken out of the field, the referee turned to look at the team captain. "You picked people who bruise easily."

The captain was a Sophomore year vampire, and he said, "All the good players were already chosen."

"And you thought a human was a better option than a vampire?" the referee asked in a low voice that the others didn't hear. Bringing the whistle to his lips, he blew it and announced, "Twelve more minutes before the end of the second half of the game."

When the game finally came to an end, Roman's team won the match. Most of the students who were at the bleachers cheered the winning team. Simon waved at Maximus and Victoria, who were standing at the top of the bleachers.

On their way, Roman and Simon met Conner, who was with his girlfriend. Conner wished with a smile, "Congratulations for making it to the finals, that was a good game."

"Thanks, Conner," Simon smiled back at the human. Roman's eyes scanned the bleachers and then behind Conner for Julie. In a sliver of frustration, he ran his fingers through his hair. "It is always good to have friends at the bleachers. We are going to have a party in the boy's Dormitorium later in the night. You should come, Conner. Though I must say your friends seem to be missing today."

"Melanie said she had to catch up with her studies and check on Julie-"

"Check on Julie?" Roman interrupted Conner, and the boy nodded his head.

"Julie hasn't been doing great since this morning, and she has been resting in her dorm. Mel said that she caught a fever," explained Conner.

Roman didn't wait to hear the rest of it, and he left the place immediately, heading towards the girl's Dormitorium.

Some of the girls watched him enter the building, where he was still wearing his football uniform. He went to Julie's dorm and knocked on the door. But he received no response. He placed his palm on the surface of the door as if trying to sense if Julie was in there, but he couldn't sense her presence. He dropped his hand and turned agitated.

Turning to face the long corridor where some of the girls stood, Roman's eyes narrowed.

"Do you know where the two girls went?" he demanded with a glare in his eyes.

The girls immediately shook their heads, looking petrified by the glare directed at them. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Julie was sick, there was only one place here in Veteris where people went when they were sick. He gritted his teeth.

Roman ran towards the building where the infirmary was as fast as he could.

Reaching the infirmary, Roman caught sight of Julie, who sat outside the room on the bench. She was in her sweater but without her glasses. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, knowing Isolde hadn't injected anything into her. He walked to where she was, seeing she had her eyes closed.

On the other hand, Julie heard footsteps come and stop in front of her. She guessed it to be her friend's, who had dragged her here after sprinkling water on her face after she had fainted.

She felt a warm hand placed on her forehead and subconsciously leaned into the touch, which felt soothing.

"You really are a troublemaker, aren't you."

Was she imagining Roman speaking to her? Ah, it seemed like he was truly haunting her thoughts, thought Julie to herself.

When the hand pulled away from Julie's forehead, her eyes fluttered open. She noticed a person wearing shorts, legs coming into her view. And what nice legs they were, she thought in her mind. Not chicken legs, nor overly athletic legs, just the right amount of muscles.

Her eyes then trailed up to look at the person, and she saw it was indeed Roman, who stood in front of her. Her mind was slow, but that only made her drink in his appearance. His eyes looked fierce yet concerned, staring at her while she could smell of sweat mixed with his cologne.

"Are you hurt?" asked Julie, as he was in his sports uniform and front of the infirmary. "I couldn't make it to see the game," her words were softer than usual.

Roman closed his eyes for a second before opening them to look at her, "That's fine. There will be many in the future. Since when have you been like this?"

"Morning," replied Julie, letting her head lean back on the wall as it felt heavy. Walking from the girl's Dormitorium to the infirmary had taken up all her energy. She wished to have a blanket so that she could sleep right here.

Melanie stepped outside the infirmary room and caught sight of Roman standing in front of Julie.

"Doctor Isolde isn't here yet. She has gone to attend a meeting with Ms. Dante and the other staff members," she informed both of them.

"It seems like a normal fever. With a good amount of rest she should feel better," stated Roman, relieved that Julie had not met Isolde and be asked to rest in here. He noticed the small bump on her forehead.

Melanie looked at Julie and then informed him, "Julie hasn't eaten anything since this morning and earlier she fainted in the room. I was worried and decided to bring her here. After all, it is what we students are supposed to do…" she said, speaking about one of the rules set by Veteris.

Roman stood there with his lips set in a thin line. He then stepped inside the room from where Melanie had stepped out a minute ago. Julie turned her head from where she sat, looking through the window, and she saw Roman talking to a nurse.

The nurse pointed her finger at a cupboard, and Roman made his way towards it, pulling it open, rummaging through it, and he picked up a small box of medicine.

When he stepped outside the room, Roman said to Melanie, "I spoke to the nurse on what medicine to take as the doctor will take time to get here. Julie just needs to eat and drink something." Saying this, he came to stand in front of Julie. "You'll only freeze if you stay here, do you have the energy to walk?"

Julie shook her head, "Is it okay to ask for a bed to sleep inside?"

Roman brought his hand forward, placing it on one side of Julie's face. She was dizzy, and subconsciously she leaned into his touch one more time. She looked tired.

"How would you like to return to your dorm?" Roman asked her.

Julie stared into Roman's black eyes that reflected her shabby appearance, making her realize her hair looked worse than a bird's nest. "I wish I could disappear," she muttered.

Roman turned to look at Melanie and said, "Do you have her dorm key? I will bring her back to the dorm. You can go ahead."

Though Melanie was a little hesitant, she pulled out the key from her pocket and handed it to him. She could tell that Roman cared about Julie, and she left her friend in the senior's good hands.

Julie heard the light sound of footsteps leave the corridor, and it was just Roman and her in front of the infirmary. Roman's hand had left her face, leaving her skin cold, and she stared at him. Did he come here directly from the game? She saw him turn his back at her and sit on his heels in front of her.

Her eyes widened, and she whispered to him, "What are you doing?"

Roman turned to look at her over his shoulder, and he said, "Put your arms around my neck. I am carrying you back to the dorm." Julie's pale cheeks turned slightly pink at his words.

"We aren't kids to piggyback," Julie's words were careful, while Roman looked at her with patience.

"Your friend mentioned that you fainted earlier. I don't want a repeat of it with another humpty fall. Would you prefer to be carried in the adult version in my arms in front of me?" deadpanned Roman.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Julie slowly got up from where she had been sitting. She then placed both of her hands on his shoulders before circling it around his neck.

"Don't fret. It is dark outside, so you don't have to worry about others staring at you," assured Roman, while making sure Julie had leaned forward before he placed both his hands to hook behind her legs such that he now carried her on his back. "And if you are still worried, you can hide your face in the crook of my neck."

Julie's face turned bright red, and Roman started to walk away from the infirmary.

"This feels so strange," whispered Julie, her breath falling on Roman's neck.

She made sure her grip around Roman was firm so that she wouldn't fall backwards. She had her eyes closed, not daring to look at any possible people staring at them. But after two minutes, when she opened her eyes, she noticed they were surrounded by trees.

"Are you kidnapping me?" asked Julie, her eyes looking at the quiet path before noticing the buildings that were on the right.

"That is an intriguing idea," commented Roman. Julie softly coughed, looking in the other direction before she apologized, "Sorry."

When Roman turned his head to look at Julie, their eyes met, and he noticed the vulnerable look in her eyes. After a second, Julie lowered her gaze, looking at the ground. When Roman's eyes moved to look at the front, her eyes slowly moved to look at him. He was as strong as he looked. Having played a match, he still seemed to have the energy to carry her, thought Julie in her mind.

"How did you know I was at the infirmary?" Julie's words were soft and sweet on Roman's ears.

"Conner had come to watch the game. He mentioned about you being sick and I came to check on you," replied Roman, his voice calm like the waves of the ocean. "You didn't have a fever in the afternoon when I last checked."

He did? Asked Julie. She then recollected the time in the lunchroom where he had placed his finger on her forehead. She placed her head on his shoulder, letting it rest while watching Roman's features.

"Did you win the match?" she asked him.

"We did," responded Roman.

"Was it a fun match?" inquired Julie, her words barely increasing in its volume.

"Yeah," he said, remembering him enjoy the sound of the bone crack on the field.

Their way back to the Dormitorium felt longer, but Julie didn't mind it. The rest of the way, it was quiet and comfortable. They didn't speak much on their way, where Roman allowed her to rest without disturbing her. But Julie had trouble resting, just at the thought that he was carrying her.

When they reached near the front side of the girl's Dormitorium, some of the students saw Roman carrying Julie on his back as if she was a feather that barely weighed anything. The other students had a gobsmacked expression on their face, especially Eleanor and her friends, who stood outside the building.

The vampires had trouble digesting the scene that they witnessed in front of them. It was because they were used to seeing Roman either with his close friends or by himself. Whereas Roman's friends, who were still walking and making their way from the opposite side of the path, caught sight of Roman stepping inside the girl's Dormitorium.

"Looks like it is official," commented Maximus.

"Seems like it," replied Simon, dipping his hands into his trouser pockets.

"I am somewhere worried," Olivia let out her concern with a small frown on her face. On the other hand, Victoria decided not to speak on it, as she had already expressed her opinion.

Maximus, who was next to Olivia, put his arm around her and asked, "When are we turning into a couple, Liv?"

"Over my dead body," came the clipped words from Olivia, and she pushed Maximus' arm away from her, but he was too persistent, and he went back to put his arm around her.

"You know that isn't an issue," grinned Maximus, and Olivia rolled her eyes.

Back in the girl's Dormitorium, Roman unlocked the door with the key and stepped inside Julie's dorm with her. Closing the door, he made her sit on the bed and noticed the untouched food on the desk.

Roman picked up the food that Melanie had bought for her earlier, and he placed it on the bed. He said, "You need to eat something before taking the medicines," he sat down on the edge of the bed next to her.

Having been carried here by him, Julie didn't protest, and she took a bite from the sandwich. When she was half done with the sandwich, she started to cough, her throat feeling itchy.

Roman poured water into the glass.

But he didn't hand it to her. With her hand holding the sandwich and the other holding the handkerchief, he brought the glass to her lips. When Julie parted her lips, her eyes met Roman's, who stared back at her. She took a couple of sips before he took the glass away from her.

When two drops of water slipped from the corner of her lips, Roman used his other hand, wiping it with his thumb. Her heart hitched, and he heard it loud and clear.

"Not stealing glances anymore?" questioned Roman, gingerly letting his hand drop from her face.

"I will do that tomorrow," murmured Julie, and her words made his lips twitch.

Because of the fever, Julie's already lowered guard had completely been discarded, and she stared back at him. Sitting in the room that belonged to her, which once belonged to Roman and did even now.

"I look forward to catching you looking at me then," remarked Roman, and Julie returned to finishing the whole piece of sandwich before she couldn't have anymore. Once she took medicine, she laid her head on the pillow and covered herself in the blanket while he took the meal and placed it back on the table.

"You should go change your clothes," whispered Julie, whilst Roman had picked up the letter that he had written and placed it for her this morning. "I will be okay."

Roman shifted his gaze from the letter to her, placing the letter on the side table and sitting on the bed next to her. He responded to her words with, "I will stay here until you fall asleep."

He would need a shower, but before that, he needed blood, thought Roman to himself. Warm and rich blood to quench his thirst. Playing on the football field had increased his hunger, and right now, he was trying to control his vampire traits. He couldn't smoke in the room where the girl was sick, and he didn't have a can of blood with him.

Julie nodded her head while looking at him. When Roman moved his head towards her, she was quick to bring the blanket up, covering herself up to her nose.

Roman's lips twisted, his eyes staring into hers. Somewhere, like Julie, his senses were turning more predatory, and he noticed the way the top of her cheeks turned red. Her eyes were watery and her hair a mess, giving him a whole different wave of thoughts that rushed through him.

He asked her, "Did you not like the kiss?"

The kiss was phenomenal, like fireworks, said Julie in her mind.

"It's not that," came the hushed words from Julie. "You will catch my cold."

Roman's head tilted to the side, and he stated, "Haven't you heard that sharing a kiss when you are sick helps you get better faster?"

Julie shook her head, "I don't want you falling sick because of me."

He remembered that in Julie's eyes, he was a human-like herself, unaware of the truth. He said, "You don't have to worry about me falling sick. And if I did… I am sure it would be worth it."

Julie finally closed her eyes, feeling the side of the bed dip under a foreign weight next to her that let her know that Roman was here.

It took less than five minutes for Julie to fall asleep. When she next opened her eyes, she found Roman sitting on the chair with his crossed legs supported on the table. He was no more in his football uniform, and was back to his black clothes, ripped jeans and T-shirt. She hadn't expected to see him in the room,  as she had expected him to have left by now.

As if sensing her awake, he looked up from the book that was in his hand. Placing it on the table, he walked to her bed.

"How do you feel?" questioned Roman, placing his hand back on her forehead to feel her temperature. "Looks like you are still warm. You should feel better by tomorrow morning. I brought you dinner."

Julie nodded her head. Pushing herself, she sat up on the bed while running her hands to tame her hair.

"Will you be eating too?" asked Julie, noticing the tray of food. Roman bent down, picking up the coke can and shaking it. That was his dinner… That was a drink! She then said, "Thank you, for bringing me back to the dorm and for dinner."

"No problem," said Roman, not letting her step out of bed, and he brought the tray of food to her. "Melanie was here an hour ago, to check on you."

Julie turned to look at the clock on the table, seeing it was past ten in the night. She turned back to look at Roman and asked him, "How long have you been here?"

"Three hours," replied Roman, and he said, "Eat."

Had he been sitting there in the chair reading a book while keeping an eye on her health? She saw him take a sip from the can while his eyes met hers.

"I don't fall sick that easily," explained Julie, and Roman gave her a nod. "The last time I fell sick was probably two years ago. My mother used to place this wet cloth on my forehead to reduce the fever. She would sit next to me until I fell asleep."

"She took good care of you," stated Roman and Julie nodded her head.

"She did," a small smile on her face before she started to eat from what Roman had bought for her. "What are your plans after here?" she asked, as Roman had spent his evening with her in the dorm except when he had to go and change his clothes.

Roman swirled the liquid in the can by rotating it gently with his legs crossed as he had gone back to sit. He said, "There's a party in the boy's Dormitorium, for winning today's match. Celebrating the first victory."

"You don't have rules of having to turn off lights?" asked Julie, noticing how some of the students could bend the rules that the university had set.

"Do you think we follow them?" He raised one of his eyebrows, and Julie shook her head. "The top corridors of the Dormitorium are kinda booked. We have our dealings with the warden. And if that doesn't work, there's always the forest where students go to."

"Which was the other team that won in today's match?" she inquired, taking a bite from her meal.

"Griffin's team. The one which Mateo Jackson is part of. It's going to be Ravens vs the Hawks," Roman let her know.

"It is going to be an intense match," Julie could already imagine.

When the clock started to move closer to Eleven o'clock, with only five minutes left, someone knocked on the door. Roman walked towards it, and when he opened the door, Julie saw it was the warden of the Dormitorium.

The warden was a woman with glasses and her hair tied up. She had a stern-looking face, and she tapped on the watch. She said, "No male visitors after eleven. You know the rules."

Julie, who finished eating, looked at Roman, who gave the woman a nod. The woman was a vampire, waiting for him to leave.

He was leaving?

Her heart sank in her chest, hearing Roman had to leave as he already had plans since he was the team captain. She saw him walk back inside the room, picking up his coke can, and he looked at her.

"Have a good night's rest, Winters," he said to Julie.

She gave him a nod, offering him a smile, "Goodnight. Thank you again," she wished him, the fever still lingering in her body and mind.

While she was still sitting on the bed, she saw Roman step out of the dorm and turn to look at her. As the warden closed the door, Julie stared at Roman until the crack between the door and wall reduced. After a few seconds, she heard the door shut and click.

The room turned empty again, and Julie clutched the blanket in front of her. Somewhere, she wanted him to stay back. Ask him not to go. As minutes passed, regret seeped into her mind, and she realized she couldn't do anything. She was getting used to him being around, and she wondered how things would change once he would graduate from here.

Julie was lost in thoughts, staring at the door, when she heard the window next to her tap. Her eyes snapped towards the window and saw Roman, who stood outside, looking a little breathless.

She moved towards the window, pushing it open.

Roman asked her, "Did you want to say something?" his eyes searched in her eyes.

Julie pursed her lips, her heart beating louder, and she said, "Don't go."