<span style="font-style: italic">Vivienne, what are you doing?</span>came the nagging voice in her head once more.<span style="font-style: italic">There was a chance to make at least one friend before going and putting yourself in the middle of a crowd. Turn around, and talk to him.</span><br/><br/>This ritual had become second-nature to her, talking herself out of being that longer she'd so easily stepped into the role of. Letting out a sigh, she tried to put on a smile, turning around to ask him a question...only to stop cold.<br/><br/>He was gone.<br/><br/>Just like that, without a sound or trace, he'd disappeared somewhere along the path. Come to think of it, he'd just appeared too. Showed up out of nowhere, and then was gone just as quickly. She looked about her, turning around in a circle to see if she'd just missed something, but didn't see any other movement. Nothing apart from her own shadow following her movements.<br/><br/>"Good job, idiot. Don't talk to someone. It's not like that's the exact reason you came out, right?"<br/><br/>Yet, feeling discouraged, she trudged back to her dorm. Something about the fail she'd already encountered just took away any little hope she had of actually regaining some traction in the world of the living. Each step felt more weighted than the last. It was hard enough to have gotten the courage to even go out, but then to fail so quickly, her confidence was shot.<br/><br/>Door closing behind her, her bathroom mate came through, plopping down on her bed like she'd been invited in. Vivienne gave her a rather tired, slightly bemused look and endured a few minutes of idle chit chat before shaking her head. "I'm calling it a night...See you tomorrow?"<br/><br/>It took a bit of prodding to get her out of the room, but she was successful. Locking her bathroom door behind her, she padded over to her window, opening the transparent surface to let the cool air wash over her. Taking up her journal once more, she sat on the seat, looking out at the quiet world before writing down one final line before falling asleep, wrapped in her favorite blanket...Sebastian's eyes the last thing that passed through her mind.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="color: #BF40BF">I will smile.</span></span></div><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="color: #BF40BF">I will hold an actual conversation.</span></span></div><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="color: #BF40BF">I will be happy.</span></span></div>