Between my already hectic schedule and trying to keep a newly-turned vampire fed, the vending machine was becoming my best friend.

I’d never worried about my blood sugar before. But ever since I started hiding a vampire in my dorm room, I really wasn’t myself without a Snickers.

I planned a stop at the machine outside of the Daybreakers’ usual study room on my way to their next meeting a couple days later. I desperately didn’t want to go inside. I just stared at the snacks, willing the whole vending machine to tip over and crush me in a freak accident.

Mentally, I practiced my cover story: Toby and I went into the woods. We didn’t find anything. All we did was make out a little bit. He must have been coming down with something, because he’s deathly--no--very ill. Looks like I got away with just a little cough.

I coughed a little, for practice. It didn’t sound convincing.

“Call me Nancy Drew, because I think I just solved the sexiest mystery of the year.” Elle leaned against the vending machine. “Hey, roomie.”

“Are we still roommates if you never come home?” I mumbled, staring at packs of Doritos. Elle waved a hand.

“Roommates in spirit. And here you are outside of the Daybreakers club meeting, maybe coming down with something? Maybe the same bug that’s keeping our hot TA out of class? Now spill.”

I tore my gaze away from the snacks to look at Elle. Had she figured it all out? How did she know?

A triumphant look crossed her face as shock washed over mine.

“So it’s true?” she said. “Tell me everything.”

“Everything?” I said, breathless.

“Oh, don’t play coy! I can see it on your face.” Elle’s delight at her discovery was baffling to me. “You spent the whole weekend with our hot TA Toby, and whatever you did to him knocked him out for the week. But something tells me whatever knocked him flat was more than a little cold… Maybe a little something hot?”

“What?” I could barely follow her train of thought. She turned to the vending machine and started punching numbers.

“I have like a sixth sense for this stuff. I know you went to his office hours last week. Very smooth move. Oh!”

She turned to me suddenly as candy bars rained down inside the vending machine. I jumped back, alarmed at her excitement.

“We should go on a double date!” Elle said.

“A… double date?”

It all started to come together. Whatever Elle had figured out, it had nothing to do with Toby’s vampirism.

All she knew was that we were together. I guess that was the story I had, and it was the story I was going to stick to.

“You and Toby and me and Max,” Elle said, tearing into her candy. I watched with fascination as she poured an entire bag of M&Ms into her mouth.

“Yeah, I don’t think Toby and I are quite at the double date stage yet,” I said cautiously. Toby wasn’t ready to leave my dorm room, let alone spend time in close proximity with strangers. His vampirism was still too apparent, and we were going to need to work a lot harder to help him blend in.

But I hadn’t even thought about what stage of a relationship we were in. We’d never discussed labels. Hadn’t talked about our feelings. Something about him getting turned into a vampire on our first date and having to hide from the world just made all that feel… less urgent.

I knew where we stood with each other. We were beyond labels… right?

Elle saw the doubt in my face.

“What stage would you say you’re in?” she asked delicately. “Or if you’re just doing a physical thing, that’s cool too,” she added.

“No,” I said quickly, mind reeling with options.

Is ‘sleeping, but not having sex with, the half-turned vampire hottie TA who you occasionally let suck your wrist blood’ a stage?

Probably not, so I just told her, “It’s complicated.”

“I love a complicated fling,” Elle said. “Max and I were complicated for like a week before we made it official.”

“I still haven’t met Max,” I said.

“Well, whenever you’re ready for a double date,” Elle sang. “Oh! Actually--I’m sure you’ll meet him at a party before then. And maybe our first proper double date can be the Homecoming bash.”

“Yeah, the Homecoming thing,” I said. I had no idea what the Homecoming thing was. Elle knew all the parties.

“Are you hungry?” Elle said, shoving candy wrappers into her bag. “I’m starving. I was gonna get dinner--”

“I actually have this club meeting,” I said. “It was supposed to start… five minutes ago? But I was going to get a snack.”

“Oh that’s cool,” Elle said. She didn’t move.

I finally settled on a candy bar and punched numbers into the machine while Elle watched.

“Girl, I miss you,” Elle said finally. I wasn’t sure what she missed--we’d lived together for all of three days before she moved in with her boyfriend--but I nodded, absently. “We should hang out.”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Honestly…” Elle looked at the floor, and for the first time I noticed the pep in her voice start to fade. “Max is so great, and I’m so lucky to have him, but… boys, you know?” Elle rolled her eyes. “I feel like I’m missing out on the girl talk and hair-braiding or whatever roommates are supposed to do. And just having… y’know, a friend. Who isn’t my boyfriend.”

“I hear that’s important,” I said, watching Elle’s eyes examine her shoes. I’d only known Elle a few weeks, but I’d never seen this side of her. It was strangely vulnerable. Different from her usual bouncy confidence.

“Anyways,” she said, starting to pep up again.

“Hey, I want to hang out,” I said. I looked at the door to the study room, an idea dawning on me. “Actually, you could help me out.”

“Really?” Elle looked like nothing had ever delighted her more. Of course, she usually looked like that--but it was oddly comforting to see her return to her natural state.

“I joined this nerdy club with Toby, and I told him I’d go to this meeting so I could keep him up to date while he’s sick,” I said. Considering how often my face was an open book, I was surprised at how easily the lie rolled off my tongue. I guess it was true enough to come naturally.

“But,” I continued, “it’s just a bunch of guys, and I feel like they’re going to be weird about me being there… Wanna come with and keep me company? We can get dinner after?”

“I would love that,” Elle gushed. “Girl, you need support, call me a push up bra.” She looked at my chest. “Not that you need any help in that department. You are blessed.”

I giggled and pulled my jacket around myself as she took my arm.

“Seriously, you can’t keep covering yourself up like that. The world needs to know.” She shook her hair back. “Let’s do this.”

“Let’s do this,” I echoed. I was never going to be as confident as Elle, but something about her made me feel like I could borrow her confidence the way I would borrow a friend’s top for a party. Having her with me made me feel like this Daybreakers club might not be the end of the world, after all.

Funny as she was, I was starting to like my absentee roommate.