• • •

Wooyoung

Submerged under comfortable sheets later that night, I do a lot of thinking, almost afraid to admit that most of it is about a certain black haired vampire. But then again, I've been thinking about him a lot lately.

And it's not always for a good reason, like right now.

I can't stop thinking about what transpired during dinner earlier. Of course, nothing particularly horrible happened. Hongjoong's parents were just as accomodating as they usually were, and the food was scrumptious, as usual. There were a lot of options to choose from regarding the meals, and if I had not been paying much attention to my surroundings then I would've totally missed San's behaviour during that time period.

Or lack thereof.

San, sat amidst the chaos of hungry college kids scavenging for the wide array of tasty food present, did not take anything to chew on. Not even once. I tried not to stare at him too much, even narrowly missing his eyes at some point, and all I could do at those times was to bite down that feeling of wanting to feed him. I didn't like how he practically avoided anything to do with food, and I still don't like it. Why didn't he want to take anything?

It's none of your business, Wooyoung! My mind screams at me, and I turn over on the bed, staring at the curved ceiling. It's quiet here in this guestroom, save for Yeosang's occassional snoring. I stare at my best friend lying only a couple feet away from me, amused at how he slightly smacks his lips as he dreams, his birthmark forming a faint halo of minty green on his cheeks. Chuckling to myself, I remember all the times Yeosang tried to convince me he doesn't snore, yet here's the solid proof. At least, I'm glad he seems to be having little to no trouble sleeping.

I sigh, my dark brows knitting when the image of San paints itself across my mind. I thought of tonight, of 
how we swam together and the sweet sound of his laughter, and how he seemed to finally be opening himself  up a bit to me, and I can't help but feel a bit worried that San would revert back to his reserved state by the next day. Especially after what happened at dinner.

Maybe he's just not comfortable eating around people? I wonder. That seems plausible.

But then again, I think as I roll and face the wall, he's not the only vampire here.

Maybe he's just iffy about feeding on blood around others? A voice in my head states.

But there were blood-flavoured pastries present! Hongjoong said they tasted 'divine'! Another voice snaps.

Maybe he doesn't like cakes! The first voice bites back.

Maybe he doesn't like you! The second voice argues.

That makes absolutely no fucking sense!

Enough! I scream at both voices, exhaling harshly when my mind is finally empty. I sit up, and rub my eyes, trying to get them used to the darkness.

Shit, I need to go pee. I groan afterwards, hating to face this sort of inconvenience at this time. I drape my feet over the bed and step out, feeling the furniture's temperature decrease as I do so. It grows more stiff, but I ignore it, already knowing it'll warm right back up the second I arrive back to sleep on it.

Tiptoeing around Yeosang in my favourite fuzzy bunny slippers, I realize that Yunho, our other roommate for the night, is nowhere to be seen. I figure he's probably over at Mingi's room or something, joining in with the latter's nightly shenanigans.

Amber lamps flicker down the hallway as I head through it, illuminating my surroundings. There's also a decorative plant stood by the corner, tall and majestic. Its orange flowers speckled with glinting purples appear to glow under the minimal lighting, and I can't help but pat a flower, smiling a bit as it leans closer into my touch. I don't remember seeing this plant earlier though, but then again, I'd been paying too much attention to a certain someone to care about some enchanted plant.

I tug at my huge grey sweater, about to keep heading deeper into the area leading to the bathroom, but then I stop abruptly at the image that greets me not too far outside.

Perched beside the pool past the sliding doors outside is San himself, curled up into himself with his black shirt engulfing his frame. He doesn't seem to notice my stare as he gazes into the pool, unmoving.

A breeze picks up in the air, and it looks to be a pretty freezing one because San slightly shudders, yet he still remains at that exact spot. I cringe, mostly because I'm no stranger to how cold nights spent over at Hongjoong's family home can get.

Forgetting momentarily about my once urgent need to pee, I step out of the doorway, chills descending down my spine at the icy atmosphere. Wind nips at and warms my nose and ears but I ignore it in favour of pulling off my sweater, glad there's a thinner shirt underneath. It's stupid for me to be doing this, mostly because I could catch a cold being out here in this weather, but frankly now I don't care as much, especially when San's familiarly dark eyes fall on me from across the pool.

I only smile as his breath hitches, and I proceed to step closer and sit right next to him.

He's quiet as I hand him my sweater, only taking in my bright smile with an unreadable expression.

"You're probably cold, so you should put it on. It's warm, and hopefully smells okay too," I add jokingly, relieved when his cool mask splinters and a tiny smile breaks over his face.

"I'm a vampire. I'm immune to the cold," he replies, almost as if he's trying to convince himself of something, but he puts it on anyways. The sight of him in my grey sweater makes my heartbeat palpitate uneasily, and I gulp, staring at our laps.

There's an awkward silence for a few more moments before San breaks it again, surprisingly.

"It's really cold out here," he starts, and then clears his throat. "You sure you're okay without your sweater?"

"Well, uhm," I stare at the pool in front of us, quickly searching for the best words to say. "I swear I'm okay though. I'm an okay witch, I'll just warm myself up with magic." At this, I proceed to add some jazz hands for a better effect, unable to hide my grin when San just snorts. His nose does a little scrunch when he does this, and it's sorta kinda really cute.

I watch as he observes the pool with a small smile on his face. "The way you say that makes it seem as if you have a spell for everything. If that was the case then I wish I was a witch..."

I don't really expect those words, so I'm a bit taken aback. San's smile drops, and he busies himself with tracing brief shapes over the pool's navy blue surface.

Quick, say something, my mind urges.

"I-I don't have a spell for everything," I decide to answer. The response is quite lame, but it catches San's attention, so I quickly continue. "It's not that great being a witch, and like I said before I freaking hate Potions class."

San chuckles, and our eyes meet. His dark stare bores into mine, and like the awkward mess I am I promptly look away, set on continuing my rambling.

"And, being a vampire can be pretty cool. I mean, Hongjoong's a vampire, and he's really fast and good at exercising. I suck at exercising. He can also go long periods of time without eating anything, but me? Nope, I love food too much to even do such a thing. Since Hongjoong's speed and strength is something he's born with, he uses them to make life easier. I, on the other hand, need to learn several spells and charms to help myself so I become even lazier than some average human. And I'm already extremely lazy."

I can't believe I've come to the point of borderline gossiping about one of my closest friends with my quiet vampire college roommate, but it is what it is, I guess.

And this seems to really amuse San, because he's now laughing, his nose doing that little scrunch again, and a warm feeling churns inside my chest. I gulp as my heartbeat skips, and I wonder what exactly this feeling is. It's like magic, but somehow more...pleasant.

But then something happens that I don't expect.

San's stomach rumbles, and, although the sound's only slight, it's jarring enough to catch my attention completely, since in all my years of living I've never thought a vampire's stomach could grumble. Sure, they can go hungry, but it never really shows through their stomach.

In an instant San's laughter dies down, and he's quiet again, pulling his knees up to his chest and suddenly looking very small.

I do my best to try and salvage the situation, and if that means to do it in my classic Jung Wooyoung Rambling™ fashion, then so be it.

"You're hungry, right? Well, it's really nothing to be ashamed of," I start, hating the way San seems much more closed off now. It's like we've gone back to how it was between us in the beginning.

San doesn't reply.

"Did you eat anything earlier tonight?" I ask.

"I d-didn't," San whispers. My sweater seems to almost swallow him whole. "Only fed on some b-blood this morning. I thought I didn't need to eat anything else."

I'm happy he answers me. "...Hey, San, look at me."

He does, but then doesn't maintain the eye contact. He bites on his lip, while my heart flutters. I'm suddenly glad it's night, since I don't want him spotting how red my ears have gotten.

Wanting to distract myself with something other than the freckles on San's cheeks, I think up a spell and stare at him again.

"San, could you give me your hand?" My voice is softer than I want it to be, and I can only chuckle when one of San's dark eyebrows arches in confusion. "Just...trust me on this."

"...Okay..." San's voice is soft too, and his palm feels even softer on mine. Ignoring the miniature sparks that seem to buzz beneath my skin, I close my eyes and hear the slight gasp that leaves his lips afterwards.

I open my eyes, satisfied at the sight that greets the both of us. "It's one of my favourite spells, mostly because it involves a lot of sparkles. And sorry, I guess I got a bit lazy again for this one as well."

Several sorts of pastries float in front of us, seeming to be pulled by their own separate invisible strings. They glitter as well, especially underneath the light of the moon.

I laugh when San plucks out a shimmering donut, and then takes a bite out of it.

"Is your tummy happy now?" I question, chuckling when San just nudges me in the rib with his elbow.

His eyes glimmer a sharp hue of red as he takes yet another bite of the glowing donut. "...How'd you do this, by the way? Like, make them shine?" He sounds so shy asking this that I have to fight the urge to coo at him.

"I sprinkled the food with edible pixie dust." I smile when San then stares at his donut with furrowed eyebrows.

"...Then why did you ask me for my hand?"

"Ooh, interesting question." San gently pushes me again. "Just wanted to confirm that you wanted food other than blood."

I take a small rosy cupcake and nibble on it, happy to be able to share this calm moment with San.

"Hey, Wooyoung..." San says after a certain point, and I meet his eyes. They pulse with red, reminding me of the steady flames of a campfire. "Thanks for tonight. You...you always help out whenever I..." He trails off, but I seem to know what he means exactly.

"It's nothing. I mean, I'm always glad to help out a friend in need," I say with a smile.

San stares at the remaining floating pastries, his dark locks shielding the expression on his face. "Yeah, of course..."

• • •

The next day arrives, but I don't get to keep my promise to San to swim with him. I'm spreading butter on my toast at the almost empty dining table across a drowsy Yeosang when Hongjoong shows up, a frown set on his lips.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask him.

Hongjoong just huffs. "San's gone back home."

My eyebrows raise in surprise. "Back to our college dorms?"

"No," Hongjoong shakes his head, sinking into the seat next to Yeosang. "He's gone back to his grandmother's."

• • •

a/n: i swear my writing's gotten a bit worse, but what are your thoughts?