About 80 years ago, one vampire stepped into broad daylight to share their existence with the world. Early vampire interviews revealed they yearned to do the most normal things - like working a 9-to-5, banking during normal business hours, and even dry cleaning. You know, things anyone can do. Thus came the non-hunting pact that allowed vampires to join humans as active members of society. Turns out, a lot of folklore myths we were told regarding vampires were completely false. Apparently, vampires can be in the sun without suddenly bursting into flames. They also love human cuisine, although it doesn't quite satiate them like human blood does. And forget about keeping a vampire away with garlic. They can't get enough of it! I can't tell you how often I see them smothering their meals in garlic. Can't say I blame them though since I'm a simp for garlic too.
Today we have private schools that separate humans and vampires, but all public schools are co-ed. You can even go to the grocery stores and find synthetic blood stocked on the shelves. What could go wrong here? I'll tell you: vampires don't sleep and get bored pretty easily, so they work non-stop! When I say non-stop, I mean 24-7-365. I couldn't fathom the idea of working 24 hours a day for leisure. I guess its because they stop aging at 26 so they have all this energy to work forever. Now you may ask, why would this affect me? Well, if a vampire falls in love with a human and can gain mutual love from said human, the human will turn into a vampire. Or at least that's what the idle rumor has implied. Regardless, I have been looking forward to my retirement since I was eleven years old! I absolutely cannot allow any obstacles stop me from living out my best life, retiring, and aging in peace.
The school bell rang, abruptly ending Colette's self-monologue. Colette sprung up from her seat and ran to the hallway to make her way to the library. She didn't want to be late for her after school duties. If she didn't already have her hands full as a retirement planner, she also volunteered after hours as the school librarian. Given her anticipation after the seven-hour school day, she ran down the hallway to ensure she wasted no precious time. As she ran, her shoulder bumped into another student and stopped to apologize.
"Sorry I-"
"Hey idiot! Watch where you're going," he snarled.
He was much taller than her, with a hostile aura and red eyes. "Vampire," she thought to herself as she immediately broke eye contact.
Despite the co-ed school systems, vampires and humans spent most time apart. There was a discernible division between the humans and vampires. Vampires have heightened senses, in addition to wisdom that is passed down from their immortal covens. This manifested into subtle behaviors from the vampires, including dismissive gestures, arrogant tones, and, above all else, the unspoken hierarchy that the human students understood all too well.
The humans understood the power struggle and often succumbed to their own fear. Rather than bridging the gap, most humans made it a point to steer clear of the hostility. At most, the students would cast their glances at the vampires and let curiosity fill in the blanks.
"I'm so sorry… but I'm in a rush! Humans and vampires can both be late…Am I right?" Dismissing the tension, Colette continued down the hallway.
"What the hell is her problem?…Well, forget it." Theo growled as he walked away.
Colette treated the library as if it were her own. Upon entry, she scouted the return bin and manually entered the data into the system. She was a proficient typist and would quickly audit the books, wasting no time. She then inspected the books for any damage. Books rarely came back mangled, but it was a high school, after all. Can't rule out the occasional gum stick, or those who get creative and add their own art to the books. Colette set aside the books with "student upgrades" for administrative review.
Colette also prided herself on her reference sections within the library. She cataloged everything perfectly, making student selection easy. Besides required course materials, the library extended into non-fiction, fiction, magazines, biographies, memoirs and more. Most recently, she started a donation program so that students could build a section of the library that didn't already exist. This resulted in a generous manga section in the library. When she started the donation program, she didn't consider the number of isekai, shoujo, and shonen lovers that existed in the school.
Colette started this ritual during her freshman year to use every school day to fuel her retirement passions. She looked into pass times she would truly enjoy as a retiree such as knitting, gardening, travel abroad, and bird watching. She volunteered as the high school librarian her freshman year, on the condition that she could use the library for her retirement planning. In exchange, she offered voluntary librarian services such as record keeping, organizing collections, and keeping the library tidy. The principal approved, and the rest is history. There was a retiree-esque nature to librarians that she really appreciated as well.
Colette glanced at the clock and was surprised at how late the time was. As per usual she had lost track of the time. Three and a half hours passed, and she realized she had overstayed her welcome. With another successful day in the books, she closed the library doors and made her way outside to head home.
Theo spent much of his time up on the school terrace. It was off limits to students after 5pm, but Theo was an expert at sneaking around school grounds un-noticed. He was especially proficient at sneaking onto the terrace. It was quiet and isolated. The fall breeze gave a cool touch to the blistering sun that was beaming onto his face. Vampires couldn't sleep, but the solitude granted him some time to close his eyes and be alone with his thoughts. Lately, Theo had caught himself disinterested in everything. With immortality rearing its head, he knew he needed to find some interests before having to live an eternity with this curse. Living forever without a single self-fulfilling purpose weighed heavily on his mind. In these moments, Theo thought more about humans. He considered their fleeting experiences as meaningful and urgent. Their lives were short after all.
He glanced over at his cell phone to find 3 missed calls from his mother. Theo sighed and stretched to prepare himself for the walk home. It was already past 7PM. Theo knew he should get going before getting caught by a groundskeeper. He walked over to the fence to get one more glance of the view from the rooftop. A girl walking into the park next to the school caught his attention.
"Isn't that the idiot from earlier? Why is she here so late…?" He thought aloud.
Before turning away, he noticed another shady figure closing in on the girl in the distance. Theo's eyes were more perceptive than that of a human, so he could sense the maleficence in the stranger's stride. Theo's eyes narrowed as his pupils curved into slits, and he bared his fangs. Rushing, he ran towards the exit.
*****
Colette embraced the cool fall air during her walk home. She had forgotten that the days were becoming shorter as the autumn season was in full effect. Colette usually cut through the park on her way home. It was the fastest route to her house, but it also gave her a decent amount of scenery. The park itself was mostly woods with one well-defined pathway for strolling. Overhead, the sky was getting dark as Colette had just missed the soft amber glow of the sunset. The trail was sinking into darkness, and the last bits of sunlight fought to make their way between the trees. Only the sound of rustling leaves and branches in the fall breeze accompanied her walk.
Suddenly Colette heard a branch snap behind her and she turned around abruptly to check on her surroundings.
"Hello…," she asked and paused to see if someone would respond.
She hadn't noticed anyone else on the path, so she assumed it was just an animal passing by. Colette had made it to the section of the path with lampposts, but it was still a few minutes early for them to power on. She continued walking when suddenly she heard a branch snap again. This time, it sounded a little closer. Annoyed, she questioned if anyone was there. The silence made her a little more uneasy the second time around.
"I'm so thirsty…" she heard an ominous whisper. Leaves were crumpling around her as if someone were closing in on her.
"I'm so thirsty…" the voice repeated.
The threatening voice shivers down her spine and Colette shouted, "leave me alone!"
Her soft, casual walk turned into an all-out sprint. Colette was ran down the path as fast as she could, but her clumsy feet got the best of her and she tripped, scraping her knees. A powerful hand pinned her down to the ground.
"I love it when my prey puts up a fight," The menacing figure emerged revealing thirsty red eyes and sharp pointed fangs.
"Stop! Why are you doing this?" She pleaded, now with fear in her voice.
"Why you ask? Haven't I already told you?… I'm thirsty."
Some of the blood from her scraped knees made its way onto his hands. He licked the smeared blood maliciously, warning Colette of the danger to come. He moved his face closer to her neck and she could feel the heat from his mouth radiating onto her skin. His saliva dripped onto her neck and her eyes welted up with tears. Too paralyzed with fear to even speak now, all Colette could manage was a whimper, "Please…someone help me."
"What do you think you're doing to her?!" a voice shouted as if they were right next to the assailant. Familiar red hair and red eyes quickly met Colette's gaze as he freed her from the vampire's death grip.
Frozen with fear, Colette was finally liberated, but she couldn't look away. Two vampires were fighting with their fangs bared at each other. The boy with the red hair had his back to her with a protective stance. After a few thrown punches back and forth, the assailant scurried away. "You've ruined my appetite kid," he hollered menacingly as he disappeared into the darkness.
Taking a few deep breaths, Theo glared back at Colette and asked, "Are you okay?"
Although his body language hadn't changed, his eyes softened and his fangs retracted. The light posts finally flicked on and Colette could see more clearly.
"Y-your nose is bleeding!" Colette exclaimed. "Let me check if I have something to use to put some pressure to stop the bleeding."
"Your knees are bleeding too," he mentioned bluntly, as if she should be a little more concerned about her own wellbeing. He used his hand to wipe his nose, but only smeared blood across his face instead.
"We're still close enough that we can use the nurses's office," Colette insisted. Theo's eyes widened as Colette grabbed his hand and darted towards the school.
"Aw man, the doors are already locked," Colette stated with a pout.
"Don't worry… I can get us in." Theo had a nonchalant look on his face as if this wasn't his first time breaking and entering on school grounds.
He ran towards the back of the school, as she waited patiently for his return. Eight minutes had passed and Colette could finally hear the door latch unlocking from the inside. Theo opened the door and held it open for Colette without saying a word. They walked up the stairs to the nurses's office in silence, but she couldn't help but sneak peeks at him. His hands were in his pockets and he was indifferent, as if nothing even happened.
They finally made it to the nurse's office and Colette looked for peroxide, gauze, and bandaids to care for their wounds. Theo didn't bother looking for anything.
"Aren't you going to take care of your nose bleed?" She questioned, concerned.
"We're mostly here for you." He answered in a short tone.
"So what…are you just going to walk around with dried blood all over your face?" she chuckled.
His expression didn't change much. "Take a seat over there. I'll help you out so we can get going."
She sat down per his request. He started patting her knees with gauze to clean off the blood. It hurt a little, but she didn't want to alarm him by grimacing.
"Hey, so what's your name, anyway?" She asked curiously.
He interrupted his task, making eye contact with her. "Theo Dragos," he said as he continued to pat dry her knees.
She waited for a minute and then blurted out, "aren't you going to ask my name as well?" She crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks as if she was upset.
"No. I wasn't… but since you mentioned it, you might as well tell me what it is."
"Colette… Colette Briars."
Theo didn't acknowledge that she had shared her name. He applied bandages to her knees, stood up, and turned away. Colette stared at him, perplexed that he didn't care to clean his face.
"It's your turn now," she ordered.
Theo sat down quietly and sighed. Colette wiped the crusted blood from his face and thought out loud, "Does human blood make you thirsty too?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn't intended to actually say that to him, but her anxiety cause her to blurt it out. Theo briefly observed her expression before diverting his gaze to the window. Before she had the chance to mutter an apology, Theo responded, "Not particularly."
Mortified, Colette couldn't register what to say in response to her slip up.
"What are you disappointed with my response?" he asked.
"Oh…what…no…what I mean is…" She didn't expect him to answer, given that he had mostly dismissed her the whole evening. Given her apprehension, she almost shrieked out those words. Her face burned with embarrassment as she continued, "Just forget I said it. We should both be good to go."
She glanced over at the clock with worry. It was already 9PM, and she didn't particularly want to encounter her assailant again.
"Don't worry." Theo, slightly annoyed at having volunteered, continued, "I'll walk you home."
"Are you sure? I really don't want to impose."
"Who sends a girl home alone at night after a vampire assault? Let's go." He responded, aggravated.
Most of the walk was silent again. Colette couldn't quite figure out this vampire. Her curiosity got the best of her as she snuck in a few peeks again. Under the dim lighting of the lampposts, it almost seemed like his pale skin was fluorescent. His red eyes also seemed to gleam as they pierced through the darkness. Her intrigue was cut short as they finally approached her apartment building.
"Well, this is me," she stated awkwardly.
"Okay well…bye." Theo stated as he turned away to continue on his walk home.
"Hey!" Colette shouted. "Life's too short to be grumpy! Thanks again!" She smiled and ran off into her apartment building.
"Pft," Theo chuckled. "What's with this girl? She must know I'm a vampire by now, right?"