The sidewalk was cracked in places, chewed up by roots that didn't care about infrastructure. Sebastian walked it anyway, hand in his pockets, backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder, mind running in loops.
Alice's gaze was still burning a slow impression into his memory.
It hadn't even been a moment technically. No conversation. No contact. Just a glance. But somehow, it carried weight of a chapter he hadn't meant to start reading.
Sebastian kicked a pebble.
It skittered forward three feet, then vanished into a storm drain. Like everything he tried to process today.
Great metaphor.
His senses twitched before his consious mind caught up. A shadow that didn't move in the sun. A breath too quiet for lungs. The air shifted.
He stopped walking.
"Okay," he muttered, glancing up toward the tree line. "We doing this? Middle of the suburbs? Bold choice."
The vampire stepped out from between two cedars like a badly written metaphor come to life, sharp cheekbones, unwashed cloak, a posture that screamed I am the darkness with the subtlety of a high school theater kid playing hamlet.
Sebastian sighed. "Of course it's a drama major."
The vampire hissed.
Sebastian tilted his head. "You hissed. You actually hissed. Do you guys have a handbook or do you just learn this from TikTok?"
It lunged.
He moved faster.
A blur of momentum, a twist of gravity under his boots, and suddenly the vampire was airborne, not the cool flying way, but in the surprise, you're now a physics experiment typa way.
It crashed through a bush, landed in a pile of wet leaves, and skidded into a tree with an audible crack. Groaning, undead and mildly embarrassed, it tired to stagger upright.
Sebastian casually dragged over a flat rock, sat down, and rested his elbows on his knees.
"Don't get up," he said, gesturing lazily. "This'll just take a minute."
The vampire growled but stayed down, one leg awkwardly twisted under him.
Sebastian glanced at the sky, thoughtful. "So let's say, hypothetically, that a friend of mine is dealing with some… feeligs."
The vampire blinked, dazed.
Sebastian continued, deadpan. "You know, basic stuff. Existential dread. Emotional vulnerability. Possibly imprinting on a clairvoyant vampire girl in the middle of lunch period."
The vampire looked confused. And mildly offended.
Sebastian pointed at him. "Don't judge. You literally hissed ten seconds ago."
The vampire opened his mouth.
Sebastian raised a finger. "Nope. You're the therapist now. That's the rule. You jump me in the woods, you listen to my problems."
A long beat of silence.
Then Sebastian leaned back, arms folding. "Do you think it's bad if you meet someone and instantly want to trust them, but you also kind of want to run in the opposite direction and disappear into a monastery in the Swiss alps?"
The vampire, in a miracle of patience or sheer disbelief, did not interrupt.
"Right," Sebastian nodded. "That's what I thought."
Wind rustled the trees.
Somewhere in the distance, a lawnmower buzzed.
"I just didn't think it would feel like this," he said more quietly. "So immediately. So loud. And she looks at me like I'm not broken. That's messed up, right?"
The vampire, to his credit, tried to shift upright. Possibly to escape. Possibly to bite him. Either way, Sebastian sighed and waved a hand, and the vampire slammed gently back into the dirt with a gravity pulse soft enough to not maim, but firm enough to say nope.
"Therapy's not over, Vlad."
A pause. Then a soft chuckle.
From Sebastian.
He shook his head at the absurdity of it all.
"God, I'm talking to a vampire about my feelings. I need better hobbies."
Another beat. Then, standing, Sebastian dusted off his jeans. "Okay. You've been very helpful. Minus the attempted murder."
He turned to walk away, calling over his shoulder, "Don't follow me. And maybe think about investing in deodorant. You smell like abandoned furniture."
The vampire groaned.
Sebastian didn't look back. He didn't need to.
The moment was over. But the pressure in his chest?
Still there.
Still her.
And the weirdest part?
He didn't want to run from it anymore.
END OF CHAPTER 17