One

19 years later

AURORA'S POV

“Move in day," I thought with a smile on my face. It was the first day of college and the first day of my new life. I was excited but also nervous.

I don't know what it was, but something told me my life was going to change today. Maybe it was the part of me that was superstitious but since we drove into the campus, my skin had been tingly. I chalked it up to first day jitters and ignored it.

“Are you just gonna stand there and gawk or are we going to get you settled in?" Finn, my best friend said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“Give me a break Finn. This is college. We're standing in front of my dorm. I'm allowed to be excited," I said, smiling at him.

“Only you would be excited for four more years of school," he said, rolling his eyes but I saw a small smile on his lips.

“Come on," I said, linking my arm in his as he helped me pull my luggage.

He tucked me into his side and I felt content, trying to force the blush down.

If there's one thing I know about this year, it's that, it's going to be the year that Finn finally falls in love with me.

Finn and I have been best friends for five years now and I've had the biggest crush on him ever since. Unfortunately for me, he's only seen me as a friend but this, this is the year that all changes.

We're both in college together and no outside distractions.I mean, we're basically in a huge school together and the only people we know are each other. How could he not fall?

We got to the room assigned to me and saw that my roommate was already there. I was excited to meet her. Besides Finn, I didn't have a lot of friends. I grew up in an orphanage and when I got out, I couldn't blend in well with regular people I guess.

Finn and I met in the orphanage. While I was raised there, he joined when he was 10 and we moved to the group home together when we were both 14.

He's practically been my only friend but hopefully that would change here. I want everything to begin on a clean slate.

“Hello?" I called out tentatively.

A tall girl, standing at probably 5'10 with jet black hair and multiple piercings came out dressed in what appeared to be black pajamas. She had a goth vibe to her which to be honest wasn't what I was expecting but I was willing to work with that.

I smiled brightly and detached myself from Finn to go say hi.

“Who are you guys?" she asked with a raised brow, not cheery in the least.

“My name's Aurora but everyone calls me Rory. I'm your new roommate," I said with a happy smile, going in for a hug.

She dodged it however and just gave a humourless chuckle instead.

“The name's Chris and I'm not much of a hugger," she said.

“Chris?" Finn asked with a raised brow.

“It's short for Christabel but if you ever call me that I'll break your arm," Chris replied very seriously.

Finn raised his arms in surrender and dropped it.

I secretly wondered why she bothered to tell us her full name if she didn't want us to use it but I didn't voice my thoughts.

“I'm Finn. I'm not your roommate. I'm just here to help Rory move in."

Chris nodded once at him. “Nice to meet you both. This side of the room is mine. Please be mindful of my stuff. That side is yours," she said pointing out the sides with her hands, “I'll stay on my side and you'll stay on yours and we shouldn't have any problems."

“Right," I replied, feeling a bit disappointed. This was definitely not the reaction I was expecting. Anyway, we're just meeting. Maybe Chris is just one of those people who needed to warm up to new people.

“I'm gonna go. I don't wanna be here while you unpack," she said as she grabbed a jacket and headed out.

Finn and I stared at each other in stunned silence. Before we could say anything. Chris popped her head back in.

“Oh and please try to be done in two hours. I don't wanna be out for two long."

And once again, without waiting for a reply, she left leaving us once again, stunned.

Eventually, we snapped out of our daze and burst into laughter.

“Looks like you're going to have your hands full with that one Ror," Finn said amidst laughter.

“Hey, you don't know that. Maybe she's going to come around later," I argued though a part of me didn't believe that.

“I hope for your case, you're right."

We both started unpacking and talk drifted to other things. The room itself was pretty nice. This was the first time I would have just one roommate so it was practically like I was having my own room.

It was pretty spacious with two beds and an open space in between. There was the closet area. I noticed Chris had already helped herself to one half. At least she was considerate enough to leave me the other half. We had our own bathroom that was pretty nice as well.

I like that each side of the room had its own vanity table and chair that I guess could also double as a work station. The school thought of everything.

Later, we were done packing and to our credit, it wasn't even up to two hours yet. Truthfully, that was because I didn't have a lot of stuff but at least we had time to help Finn with his stuff.

Just then my stomach growled. I looked at my friend sheepishly.

“Maybe we grab something to eat before we help with your stuff," I said.

“Please. We wouldn't want you eating me now," he joked.

I rolled my eyes at him and headed out of the room with him in tow.

We were walking towards a cafe talking and laughing when I felt this weird sensation. It was basically what I'd been feeling all day except this time was a little stronger. It felt like my skin wanted to lift right off my body. And yes, I know how that sounds.

I turned around. I had no idea what I was looking for but suddenly I found myself staring into the greenest pair of eyes I had ever seen.

I was looking at the most gorgeous man I had ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. He was tall, walking tree tall. If I was to guess, I would say he was 6'3. He had tan skin and dark hair that fell across his face. He had a jaw that looked like it was carved by the gods themselves and very plump pink lips.

I felt like I was in a trance staring at him. Something about him called to me. Again, yes I know how that sounds but there was no better way to describe it. It was weirder considering he was a total stranger yet he didn't feel like one.

“At long last," I heard in my head.

Confusion rushed through me before I could begin to process what had just happened, Finn tugged on my arm.

“Rory!!" he yelled, “I've been calling you. Where did you go?" he asked, a mixture of confusion and amusement on his face.

I blinked a few times trying to reorient myself. I turned again but the handsome man was gone. What the hell just happened? Did I just hear a strange voice in my head?

Of course not. That was impossible.I probably just imagined it. I was staring at a cute guy and I must have imagined what I wanted him to say to me. Although why would I have imagined him saying that?

“Hello, earth to Rory!" Finn called, snapping his fingers in front of my face.

“Are you okay?" he asked, “you look... shaken up."

I decided to push all those thoughts down since I had no answers at the moment and I didn't wanna sound crazy to Finn.

“Yeah I'm fine. Let's go get that lunch."