Tesia lowered her gaze.
"I'm a terrible friend…"
Jean stopped eating and looked at her, slightly furrowing his brow.
"Umm… no, you're not."
"That wasn't a question."
"Then… why do you say that?"
Tesia pressed her lips together slightly. For a moment, she seemed to be wondering whether she really wanted to say it, but eventually she looked up at him. There was a faint, almost teary shine in her red eyes.
"Because, Jean…"
She paused for a moment.
"I haven't even asked how old you are…"
Jean stared at her for a few seconds.
Then, without saying anything, he reached out and gently grabbed Tesia's head, moving it from side to side in small circles. Each movement made Tesia let out a little "ow."
"I'm thirty-five."
"...Thirty-five?"
"Yep."
Jean continued gently moving her head while speaking with the utmost seriousness.
"And yes, I know. I'm already old. In fact, people probably see us walking together and think, Oh, look at that old man. How did he end up walking around with such a pretty young girl? She must be helping him cross the street."
Tesia started covering her mouth.
Jean continued.
"Yeah… she probably felt sorry for me. She probably thinks I need help going up the stairs, so that's why I have a young, healthy, fit blonde accompanying me."
Tesia tried her hardest to hold back her laughter. She took a deep breath, slowly inhaling and exhaling twice. Once she had calmed down a little, with only a gentle smile remaining on her face, she spoke.
"Jean…"
"Yes?"
"You bring back memories."
Jean stopped moving her head.
"What?"
Tesia looked at him sweetly. She rested her cheek against one of his hands and smiled.
"I'm seventy-seven, Jean."
Jean froze completely.
"…"
Tesia smiled a little wider.
"Age is just a number."
It took Jean a few seconds to react. Sometimes, he completely forgot that he was talking to a vampire.
The reality hit him: not only was she a vampire, but she was a vampire who had lived more than twice as long as he had.
Jean raised a finger and gently placed it against Tesia's forehead.
"So, technically, my dear friend is a grandma."
Tesia stopped smiling.
Her ruby eyes seemed to flash with fire for a moment.
"Don't you ever make that joke again."
Jean immediately pulled his finger away.
"Sorry."
"You'd better be."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Jean…"
"Okay, okay. Sorry, miss."
Tesia smiled again.
"You're such a dummy."
After they finished eating, the two continued wandering around the city without really having anywhere to go.
It was strange.
They hadn't planned anything special. They were simply together, spending that Saturday afternoon side by side.
First, they walked through a nearby park, where Jean ended up buying Tesia an ice cream. Tesia chose strawberry and Jean chose chocolate, both in cones, and for a few minutes they simply walked around while eating without saying a word.
Tesia seemed particularly happy with her ice cream, as if, to Jean, she had never tasted one before in her life.
Every now and then, she would stop to take another bite before continuing as if nothing had happened.
After that, they passed by a music store, even though neither of them knew how to play a single instrument.
That, of course, didn't stop them from going inside.
They ended up taking pictures with Jean's phone while pretending to play guitars, keyboards, and even a drum set that neither of them had the slightest idea how to use.
When they left, Jean looked through some of the pictures.
"I can't believe you show up in the pictures."
Tesia turned to look at him.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Ever since I first found out you were a vampire, I was curious. I thought maybe you didn't show up on cameras or something."
"Oh, that."
Tesia adjusted her cap as they walked. The movement caused a few strands of hair to slip out from underneath it, so she tucked them back into place with her fingers.
"Actually, we can show up in pictures."
"I can see that… What about mirrors?"
"Yep. Well, if we want to."
Tesia raised a finger.
"The whole thing about vampires not appearing in mirrors or photographs is more of an old myth. I think it had something to do with a kind of curse that happened when vampires drank too much human blood and had no restrictions on it."
Jean looked at her.
"Wait…"
Tesia continued walking casually.
"Does that mean you don't drink human blood anymore?"
"Hmmm."
"Are you a vegan vampire?"
Tesia burst out laughing.
"Vegan vampire?"
She covered her mouth as she laughed.
"No, you dummy! It just means we drink blood from little blood bags now."
She turned slightly as she walked and showed him her fangs with a smile.
"So you have nothing to worry about, handsome. I'm not going to eat you or anything. Yet."
"Thank goodness. Wait… what do you mean, yet?"
Tesia pretended not to hear him.
"Drinking blood directly from humans is outdated and, besides, it's not very healthy for us."
Jean continued walking for a few seconds, thinking about that.
Then he suddenly stopped.
"Oh… I see."
Tesia stopped too and looked at him.
"What?"
"So you became intolerant to blood… like how humans are lactose intolerant."
Tesia blinked.
"What?"
"Well, so, so... You could put it that way, right?"
Tesia thought about it.
"Hmm…"
She placed a hand on her chin.
"If you want to look at it that way…"
She continued walking.
"Honestly, I never really thought about it. By the time I was born, it was already normal for vampires not to drink directly from humans, much less drink too much. Though, just like with everything else, there are always a few antisocial vampires here and there."
Jean started walking beside her again.
"I see… and thank goodness for that. Although, thinking about it and going back to the milk example, humans don't drink directly from cows either, you know?"
Tesia looked at him, clearly wondering what his obsession with milk was.
"Where are you going with this?"
"Well, it makes sense that you guys would do something similar. We don't drink too much milk either because it can make us sick. And we don't drink it directly... from cows... just like you... from us...you know?"
Tesia stared at him for a few seconds.
"Oh…"
She went quiet.
"You really are an idiot, Jean."
Jean kept walking.
"Leave me alone."
Tesia let out a small laugh and lightly punched his arm.
"But I think you're right, you silly human friend who tried to kill himself."
"Thanks… you boobalicious vampire who doesn't look her age…"
"What?!"
"Pretty young vampire, I said…"
Tesia narrowed her eyes at him.
"Good boy."
It was already nighttime when the two found themselves near Jean's apartment.
They had spent several hours together, and although neither of them had done anything particularly extraordinary, Jean felt like it had been one of the most peaceful and fun days he'd had in a long time.
He looked at Tesia.
"Hey…"
"Hmm?"
Jean hesitated for a moment.
"Do you want me to walk you home?"
Tesia stared at him, seeming surprised that he remembered. She had once told him, If you want to walk me home, do it on a Saturday when you don't have to work the next day.
That day had finally come, and this was officially the first time Jean had offered to walk her home. It had taken him a couple of weeks to work up the courage.
"You really want to?"
"Yeah, of course."
"All the way to my house?"
"Well… yeah."
Jean scratched the side of his head slightly.
"It's already nighttime and…"
Tesia smiled.
"Okay."
Then they started walking.
However, after a few minutes, Tesia seemed to grow a little nervous.
She looked to one side.
Then the other.
Then back at Jean.
"Jean…"
"Yeah?"
"Can we stop by your apartment first?"
Jean raised an eyebrow.
"My apartment?"
"Yeah…"
Tesia adjusted her cap.
"It's just…"
She fell silent.
She didn't seem to know how to say it.
"What's wrong?"
"I need to do number one."
It took Jean a second to understand.
"Oh."
Tesia turned red.
"I just didn't know how to say it without making it sound weird."
"It doesn't sound weird."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Apparently, it's something completely normal that doesn't discriminate between humans and vampires."
Tesia smiled in relief.
"I usually don't have a problem because I can just fly home in less than two minutes and…"
They kept chatting, and a few minutes later they reached Jean's apartment building, which happened to be on the way.
They went upstairs, Tesia growing quieter as she tried to hold it in, until they finally stood outside his apartment. Jean opened the door and stepped inside, explaining where the bathroom was and telling her to let him know if she needed anything.
Tesia followed him to the entrance, but when Jean took a few steps forward, he realized she hadn't followed.
He turned around.
Tesia was still standing in the doorway.
She wasn't saying anything.
One hand was gripping the brim of her cap, and her entire expression had changed.
There was no smile on her face. She was simply looking down.
Jean felt a small chill run down his spine.
Did she lose control of her vampire bladder?
There was something about that expression he didn't know how to interpret.
She looked serious.
Too serious.
"Tesia?"
She didn't answer.
Jean slightly furrowed his brow.
"Why aren't you coming in?"
Tesia finally looked up and stared at him from the doorway.
And then…
"Tesia?"
Jean felt that something wasn't right.
"Jean…"
The apartment door remained open, and Tesia still hadn't stepped inside.