true love does exist.

It was here. The day that Merida had been waiting for for so long was finally here: move-in day at college. While her mother had been hoping to keep her at home for a little while longer, her father encouraged her, wanting her to accomplish anything and everything that she desired. And she was thankful for that. She didn't want to be stuck at home any more. She'd been home-schooled for most of her life, so going to an actual school, let alone a huge university as this one was, was a huge deal to her. She knew that she probably appeared to be just like every other wide-eyed freshman on campus, and maybe she was, but she liked to think that she wasn't like them at all. She liked to think that she was different. And she hoped to make the best of her first year of higher education.

---

Same school, different year. That was Dimitri's attitude towards the start of the fall semester. It was his second year at the school, and, needless to say, he was pretty sure that he had this whole college thing under control. He knew what to expect now, though he liked to believe that he hadn't been like all of the wide-eyed freshman who were so easily spotted on campus. He really hoped that he hadn't looked like that just a year earlier. Not that that mattered now anyway. What was in the past, was in the past. Freshman year was over and done with, and he was ready to take on sophomore year and whatever it had in store for him.

[Oh my god, this sucks. ]

(It was great, don't worry!)

With Kenai being the youngest of his three siblings, it wasn't too surprising that he had ended up going to the same college as his brothers, who had both graduated by now - though, one of his brothers, Sitka, had died the previous year in a car accident. Denahi was still in denial about it and so was Kenai, though he would never admit it aloud. This being his second year at the university, he wasn't entirely sure what to expect of it; the year before had been a bit difficult, since it had been his first year. But, with his brother's death, he wasn't sure that this year wouldn't be difficult, too. The thought was a little bothersome, but he tried not to think too much about it. Instead, he tried to keep his concentration on heading to the dorms, his luggage in his arms. Part of him had debated on getting an apartment off-campus or something, but that wasn't something that he really wanted to do so soon into his college career. No, perhaps he would save that little escapade for his Junior year.

---

As she was with anything else, Belle had diligently studied the campus map, where to find her courses, what she would likely need for each course, and where her dorm room could be found. With it being her first year of college, she wanted to make sure that she stayed on top and did everything necessary to succeed - especially since she was there fully because of scholarships. Her father couldn't afford to put her into college - though the man was a great inventor, he had yet to sell any of his inventions. Maybe that was why Belle had worked so hard to try to get any scholarship that could help her with affording college. Maybe that was why she was so much more focused on making the best grades that she could manage than she was anything else. With a sigh, she soon spotted the dorm building and she couldn't help but to feel a bit relieved as she made her way inside with what little luggage she had brought.

"Alright, maybe I could've used their help..." Merida said quietly to herself as she walked. When her family had dropped her off at the campus, her parents had offered to help her bring her luggage to her dorm, but she'd insisted that she was fine and could do it herself. The last thing she needed was for her brothers to be wreaking havoc across campus. Probably not the best first impression. Not that she really cared what people thought of her. She'd always sort of walked to the beat of her own drum. Her mother had tried raising her to act like a proper lady, though Merida knew that that hadn't exactly gone as her mother had planned. She was more interested in participating in activities with her father. She loved archery because of him, and she really hoped that the school's archery team was as good as they claimed it was. Truthfully, that was what had attracted her attention the most, though she let her mother believe it was because of the academic excellence the university was known for. "Nah, I've got this. I'm fine. I can definitely do this myself."

---

Dimitri honestly found the campus was pretty easy to navigate. Of course, he'd had a year to learn all the ins and outs of the university. He knew where all the different buildings were and where the best spots were to go study during midterms and finals week. He even knew a couple of shortcuts to get to the academic buildings on the off chance that he'd slept through his alarm or something. Of course, he'd known none of this when he started just a year earlier, but it hadn't taken him too long to figure it all out, and his roommate had helped him along the way too. Unlike some of the other students, he didn't have any older siblings to ask for advice, but he was pretty sure that he'd done just fine on his own. And he'd made some friends who were older who could let him know which classes and professors to avoid anyway. And he was sure that he had this semester in the bag already. He wasn't worried at all.

It was only when Kenai got to his dorm that his phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw that it was Denahi and he answered it. "I just got to my dorm," he told his brother as soon as he answered, setting his things on the bed in the far corner. He didn't start unpacking just yet, just in case his dorm-mate wanted that side of the room, but he sat down anyways. "That's good," Denahi muttered; from his voice, Kenai could tell he had only just woken up. "Are you looking forward to this semester?" Denahi asked, which surprised Kenai a bit. Was he looking forward to it? No, not really. Was he going to tell Denahi that? Definitely not. So, Kenai opted for answering with, "A little. I'm mostly curious to how my dorm-mate's going to be. Whoever it is has to be better than you." His words earned a slight laugh from his brother, which he was thankful for; he hadn't heard Denahi laugh in a while. "Careful there, little brother," Denahi chimed, "I might take you seriously. Good luck." Kenai sighed and nodded. "Thanks, I'll probably need it," he decided quietly.

---

As Belle wandered the dorm hallways in search of her dorm. She could see others moving into their rooms and though she was a bit eager to meet others, she knew it was best to get settled into her own room first. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to find her dorm and, when she entered, she saw that she was the first to arrive in the room. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, honestly; she could pick where to set her things, but that could erupt into an argument with whoever her dorm-mate ended up being. That was something she wanted to avoid; bad blood between dorm-mates would make the year stressful, she was sure. So, instead, she set her luggage down beside a wall and sighed as she waited for her dorm-mate to show up.

"I can totally do this." Merida said quietly to herself as she approached the dorm building. She just had to get to her dorm, juggling her luggage and her bow without breaking or dropping anything, and then she'd be home free. So to speak anyway. "It would help if I knew where I was going though..." Sighing, she came to a stop just outside of the building, placing her luggage down for a few moments so that she could pull up the information on her phone. Once she had, she continued on into the building, all the while wondering who her roommate would be. Of course she managed to carry everything without a single hitch until she was just outside the room. She swore rather loudly when she somehow managed to drop one of her bags, the heavier of all of them, on her foot.

---

Dimitri wasn't too worried about finding his room. He knew his way around the campus, and the dorm buildings as well. Sure, he wouldn't be in the same room that he'd been in last year, but he knew roughly where his room was. Needless to say, he took his time getting to the room. He wouldn't be at all surprised if his roommate got there before he did. After stopping to get a cup of coffee in the cafe across campus, he headed to the dorm building. Once he reached the right room, he walked inside, taking notice to the girl who was already there. "You must be my roommate."

Kenai cringed at the loud noise, looking towards the door. "Kenai, what was that?" Denahi asked on the other line, having apparently heard the noise as well. "Ah, sorry, Denahi, but I think I have to go. I think my room-mate just got here," Kenai said quickly before he hung up and pocketed his phone. Moving to the door, he opened it, blinking with surprise at the sight that greeted him. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked as he moved closer, picking up what she had dropped. It was fairly heavy and he frowned, wondering if she had ended up breaking her foot or toe in the process of dropping it; he was certain that she would at least have a large bruise. Putting the heavy luggage inside, he came back. "Here, let me help," he offered quickly.

---

Mentally, Belle had been preparing herself for whatever was to come of her room-mate. Knowing that the dorms were co-ed, she had honestly hoped that she would have a stroke of luck and get roomed with a girl. When she heard the door open and turned to see the owner of the masculine voice, she realized that luck definitely wasn't on her side. Oh well, she thought before she offered a smile and held out her hand in greeting. "I suppose so. My name's Belle. It's nice to meet you..." she murmured, trailing off for lack of the proper way to greet the man without his name.

A few choice words escaped Merida's lips, her accent coming out a bit thicker, and making the words a bit less clear, in the process. She really should have taken her parents up on their offer, but she'd wanted to start getting the full college experience straight away. That probably could have waited until she had everything safely placed in her dorm room, but it was clearly too late for that now. Her focus was mainly on the throbbing pain in her foot, and making sure that her bow hadn't been damage when she sort of flailed a bit after dropping the box on her foot, so she didn't notice the guy who had come out of her dorm room until he spoke. "Yeah, totally. I drop heavy objects on my foot all the time!" She said sarcastically, unable to help doing so. If she wasn't in as much as she was at the time, she probably would have been a bit nicer seeing as he was helping her and all, but that thought hadn't really crossed her mind just yet. She shook her head. "No, I've got it. I'm fine." And maybe she needed to learn to be less stubborn too.

---

Dimitri obviously knew that the dorms were co-ed. It wasn't a secret or anything like that, and it was kind of something that he was sure the college needed to let all of their students, and potential students, know ahead of time. He was sure that it hindered the decisions of some people, though he certainly hadn't been one of them. He actually didn't mind it, though his roommate last year hadn't been a girl, so he really didn't know what living in such close quarters with someone of the opposite gender for an extended period of time was like. He supposed that he would find out soon enough though. "Dimitri." He responded, setting his things down. "Are you a freshman? I don't think I've ever seen you around campus before."

Kenai was a bit taken aback by her sarcasm, but he was used to it, honestly. He had received responses like that from his brothers several times when they were frustrated - and he was sure that she was frustrated from having dropped her own luggage on her foot, so he brushed the first impression off. Smiling kindly, he nodded. "If you're sure, then," he murmured before he moved out of the way to let her in. "You might want to come inside before you drop anything else." Because that certainly wouldn't be any good; she definitely would break her foot that way, he was sure. "I mean, if this is your dorm, that is. I'm Kenai, by the way and, if this is your dorm, too, then I guess we're room-mates." Hopefully, the first impression wasn't a sure sign that she would grow to hate him throughout the year; they'd have to deal with each other all year, after all, and disdain between room-mates wouldn't be any fun.

---

From his words, Belle assumed that he wasn't a Freshman like her. She wasn't sure if that would be good for her or bad; at least, if he wasn't a Freshman, he might be able to help her figure out whatever she might have trouble with. But, then, he might also have a bit of uppity behavior due to being there longer than her. Nodding, she said, "Yeah, Freshman." She smiled in hopes of hiding whatever nervousness threatened to leak out, because even she was a bit intimidated with being in college. But she assumed it was like that for any Freshman that was new to the college, with them having to adjust to living somewhere new and being around people they never even met before. "And you're not a Freshman, I'm assuming?" Or maybe she was actually wrong about that.

Alright, maybe the sarcasm wasn't completely necessary. Actually, it wasn't even somewhat necessary, but that was the least of Merida's worries right now. In all honesty, she was more concerned about the throbbing pain in her foot than anything else. "I guess we are." She said, walking, more like limping, past him and into the room. "I'm Merida." She added once she'd set the rest of her things down. "God, that was a lot heavier than I thought..." She probably could've used the help, but she was far too stubborn and hard-headed to take him up on his offer or admit that she was wrong.

---

Dimitri shook his head. "I'm a sophomore." He told her. She'd found her dorm pretty easily. He assumed that that was the case seeing as she'd gotten there before he had. Of course, he'd kind of taken his sweet time getting there, but that was besides the point. He hoped that that was a good sign, and that she wouldn't be like some of the other freshman he'd noticed on campus on his way to the dorm building. So far, she didn't seem too bad, but he'd literally only known her for about five minutes tops. Only time would tell he supposed. "Your first day going alright?"

Though he tried not to be, Kenai couldn't help but be a bit amused. Not because she had gotten injured, of course, but because it was a bit surprising to see a girl carrying that much luggage on her own in the first place. "I'm surprised somebody didn't offer to help you carry your things here. Most of the upper-classmen usually try to help get the new students situated into the college and dorm life," he said, though he realized his mistake with assuming that she was a new students. Clearing his throat, he tried to fix that with, "I mean, if you are a new student, that is." He could be entirely wrong, after all; he was certain he wasn't, of course, because he didn't recognize her at all and he was certain he would have remembered a name like Merida.

---

So, he was a sophomore. Belle figured that was probably better for her, in the end, but she wasn't entirely sure. He wasn't so used to this school that he might be overly cocky about everything, but, then, he wasn't a freshman and might actually look down on her because she was. Pushing the thoughts aside, she lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. "It's going pretty well so far," she told him, offering a kind smile in hopes of making her words convincing - mostly because she wasn't even sure if the day would continue to go well. It had only just begun, after all. "Oh, um, I wasn't sure what side of the room you might want, so I haven't started unpacking yet."

[Sorry! I've been binge watching Broadchurch, and the series premiere of Agent Carter was on last night...]

"I probably wouldn't have taken them up on their offer anyway." Merida admitted almost sheepishly, punctuating her words with a shrug of her shoulders. And that was the truth. Her parents had offered to help her with her stuff, and so had Kenai, and she'd turned them all down. If some random person had come up to her and offered to help her carry her things up to her dorm, she definitely would have turned them down as well. "Is it that obvious?" She asked, letting out a quiet laugh.

---

Dimitri really wasn't sure of how having a girl for a roommate was going to turn out. There were some definite pros and cons, though he knew that things could probably go one of two ways. He didn't know which of the two they were; only time would really tell. Of course, he could use this to his advantage, and maybe he would. He wasn't completely sure about that either just yet though. "That's good." He said, nodding his head. "I really don't have a preference. Pick which ever one you want. Ladies first." He sent a rather charming smile her way.

(It's fine! I forgot all about Agent Carter premiering, because I've been waiting for Eye Candy to come on MTV, but it's taking too looooooong.)

A slight chuckle left Kenai's lips when he heard her laugh; it was almost contagious, he realized, but he grinned and shook his head. "No, it's not really all that obvious," he assured her before he lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. "I just don't recognize you, so I figured you were either a transfer or a Freshman." The only reason that he had narrowed it down to her being a Freshman was because she had taken it upon herself to take all of her luggage to the room, all on her own. Most people didn't even try that on the first day, unless they didn't have much - which didn't seem to be the case for her. "But, welcome to the university, regardless."

---

Surprise seemed to etch its way to Belle's face when she heard his words, and she tried not to be too affected by that charming smile on his face. Offering a smile in return, she nodded. "Alright, if you're sure," she decided before she moved to pick her things up, deciding to take the bed closest to the door. Setting what little luggage she had onto the bed, she sat down on it, deciding that she would unpack later - no need to unpack with him around, for fear of him seeing her clothes. "I'm surprised you decided to be a gentleman in this matter." Because it wasn't often that she came across men who let ladies decide first.

[Agent Carter was soooo good, oh my god. I wasn't prepared for major Steggy feels though. ]

"I'm glad. I was hoping that I wasn't one of those freshman who made it overly obvious that they had no idea what they were doing at all." Merida said, letting out another laugh. For the time being, she'd kind of forgotten about the throbbing pain in her foot. She was just glad that, so far, she seemed to be getting on rather well with her roommate. Kenai didn't seem too bad so far, though she'd only known him for about five or so minutes. She wouldn't really know for sure for at least another week or two. "Thanks." She smiled slightly.

---

Dimitri resisted the urge to laugh when he saw the surprised expression on her face. She clearly hadn't been expecting him to say what he had, though he couldn't help being at least slightly amused, and he was sure that it showed too. "I'm positive." He told her. He didn't want to start off on the wrong foot with her or anything, seeing as they'd be stuck together for two semesters at least. So, he figured he'd let her choose which side of the room she wanted, it didn't really matter much to him anyway. He wasn't very picky at all. "What makes you say that?"

(I should watch it when I get the chance~)

This time, Kenai did chuckle, despite himself, and he grinned at her. "No, you're fine," he assured her with a subtle nod. "I was a lot worse when I was a freshman, even though I had siblings who went here." He tried not to cringe at his own mention of siblings, but continued to smile. "You should probably sit down, though. You might strain your foot otherwise." Especially if it was seriously injured. Though he doubted it, it was still a possibility, and there was no need to make things worse, in his opinion - even if he often when it came to his own troubles.

---

Smiling, Belle lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. "I suppose it's not common for many people to have actual manners these days," she said honestly. There was Gaston, a brute back home who thought he could treat her as though she were just an item, a possession, when she hadn't even ever been with him. "Maybe I'm wrong, though. It could just be like that back home." Because there were also Gaston's friends, who were the most ridiculously obnoxious people she had ever met, aside from Gaston himself.

(Are we still doing these?)