ʟɪɢʜᴛꜱ | ᴀʀᴍɪɴ ᴀʀʟᴇʀᴛ

chapter one- ᴘᴀʀᴀᴅɪꜱ ✾

You felt rather melancholic, leaving Marley behind — even your irritating best friend per se, but you're hoping it's somewhat worth it. You walked your last box to the car and hopped in, as Pieck drove you back to her place, so that you could say goodbye to your other friends. You wanted to say goodbye to your father, but he wouldn't have heard you anyway and it's unlikely he'd even care.

"Y/n! Good luck today at your new university. I'm sure you'll have fun," Colt proclaimed, cheesing at you as you entered the front door. He was eating a bowl of cereal and doing his coursework.

"Ugh," You groaned, walking up the kitchen counter and leaning against it. "Not without you guys. It's going to be so weird living there without even knowing one person." You added on, gauchely fidgeting around.

"You'll be fine. You're great at making friends and plus, you're hot. I'm pretty sure you'd spark all of the attention anyway since you're from here, too." Porco stated, shoving chips into his mouth and leaning over Colt's shoulders — you cringed at him and rolled your eyes.

"Okay, we're done here. I don't want her to be late, so I'll see you guys when I get back. Make sure Gabi and Falco actually get to school on time," Pieck asserted, pinching her dark eyebrows together. It was safe to say she was the mother of the group. You hugged Porco and Colt, unsure of when you were going to see them again. Marley truly was a prodigious city, but these were the small group of people you've spent your entire childhood with and leaving them behind was utterly heart-wrenching.

The car ride to Paradis was oddly silent, as you stared out of the window. The sight of the lively streets, flashing streetlights, colossal buildings and stores, soon transitioned into empty flatland and trees — a lot of trees. The overcast, meshing with the vivid sunlight and the viridescent grass seemed rather coherent and it felt as if you were driving inside of a picture book. It brought you some sort of inner tranquility, even though you found it rather tedious to look at and found yourself subconsciously dozing off every now and then.

Eventually, you succumbed into a deep slumber and it felt like days had passed because of how long the ride felt. A few hours had passed, as you let boredom self- soak into a moment of wanting to see life, something intriguing, but the scenery was rather melancholic and utterly repetitive. You laid your head against the window once more and let your erratically anxious  thoughts float around without a sense of direction.

"Look at that. We're almost there already." Pieck pointed out, as we passed by the Paradis town limit sign. You didn't speak, however you wanted to, words just simply didn't grant you the privilege to do so. You closed your eyes and drowned your feelings out, by putting on some of your favorite music — at least until it was time to unload the car and find your dorm room.

After a few more minutes, your eyes flickered open to Pieck shaking your body and trying to get your attention. You turned off your music and opened your eyes, discerning that you were officially in the parking lot of Paradis University. Your lips parted, as you meticulously studied the building — by which your surprise, was relatively extensive. You focused your gaze at the students coming in out and out of the building, which seemed to be teeming with more people than you originally thought. However, you didn't feel like you'd be out of place.

"Don't be nervous." Pieck stated, eyeing the way your eyes darted back in forth between everything in sight.

"I'm not," You lied, unbuckling your seatbelt and opening the passenger door.

"I'll help carry your boxes to your dorm. Besides, I have to make sure your roommate isn't a psychotic bitch." She added on, hopping out of the car alongside you.

"Pieck. I swear to god if you embarrass me on my first day..." You sighed, waiting for her to pop open the trunk.

"Relax," She rolled her eyes. "You know what dorm you're in?" She queried, popping the trunk open and picking up your box of clothes.

"Building B, room 103." You stated, grabbing your box of personal belongings. You stuffed your phone and other small necessities in your purse and carried it on your shoulder. Pieck hummed in response, closing the trunk and locking it to secure all of the other items she had inside. You weren't quite sure where Building B was, so you nervously asked someone for help. Luckily, the girl was sweet enough to guide you and Pieck in the right direction — you entered Building B and walked further down the hallway, until you saw room 103. Standing in front of the door, you fixed your posture and straightened yourself. Hell, you even took the time to clear your throat and make sure your voice wouldn't waver whenever you managed to speak and introduce yourself, after all, you'd be living with this person for over a year. You took a deep breath before softly knocking on it three times. It took a few minutes at first, but an insanely pretty brunette with chest-nut brown doe-eyes finally managed to open it, a beige towel wrapped around his shoulders.

"Oh, my gosh!" She shrieked, "I am so sorry! I was in the shower and I didn't realize you'd be here so soon. I was trying to get dinner started, damnit. You must be, Y/n?" She queried, after frantically apologizing to you.

"That is me," You responded, as she moved out of the way to let you and Pieck inside, while she brushed her wet hair.

"I'm Sasha!" She cheered, "Your room is down that hallway across from mine." She added on, pointing you in the right direction.

"Don't worry about the rest of the boxes. I'll bring them up. Go ahead and get settled in," Pieck offered, "I'm Pieck, by the way." She noted, switching her gaze from you to Sasha.

"Nice to meet you, Pieck." Sasha waved, Pieck waving back before heading to the car for the last of your boxes. The dorm was relatively spacious and you adored that, you really disrelished cramped spaces. You moved your boxes from the living room, to the room you were going to be sleeping in. You were cinched to go to a store once you become more familiar with the town, so that you could start decorating it however you'd like.

"So, you're from Marley right?" Sasha questioned, standing in front of your doorway.

"How'd you know that?" You questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Words get around here pretty quickly in Paradis," She shrugged, "Besides, it's rare that we get transfer students from the city. It's usually the other way around since everyone seems to love it over there." She added on, watching you unpack.

"Oh. Well, yeah it's pretty great." You responded, missing those city lights already.

"You'll love it here too, okay? I'll make sure of that. Besides, my friends are super excited to meet you!" She exclaimed, eating random candies from the ceramic bowl on the coffee table.

"What friends?" You queried, unsure of how her friends even know of your existence in the first place. Your intuition was right about small towns knowing everything. However, you didn't exactly complain either — the more friends you make, the better.