The perfume bottle was still in Jean's hand.
Tesia's face was right in front of his, far too close.
For a few seconds, neither of them did anything at all.
Jean could feel the warmth of her skin.
He could clearly see her eyelashes, much longer than he had ever noticed before, and those ruby-red eyes, like crystals bathed in red moonlight, seemed even more intense from this close.
He could also smell her.
Her scent was strangely pleasant and unlike anything else. He loved it. No matter how much time he spent around her, Tesia always smelled just as good.
Jean swallowed.
His gaze dropped for a moment.
Her lips.
Then he looked back into her eyes.
Maybe…
His heart began beating a little faster.
Maybe this time it could work.
The thought came to him so spontaneously that, for the first time since meeting Tesia, Jean allowed himself to imagine it.
Could I…?
A relationship.
Someone he could learn to trust again.
Someone he could feel at peace with.
Maybe…
But then Jess appeared behind his eyes.
The two of them sitting on that same couch, simply leaning against each other while watching a movie.
Laughing before eventually kissing.
He was there with her, playing video games, too.
One kiss, another, another, and then one more.
Jean remembered that feeling perfectly. The sense of security he had felt in those moments.
The certainty that he had found the right person.
And then…
Jess's serious expression.
"I don't think this is going to work, Jean…"
Jean felt a small knot form in his throat.
He looked away from the memory.
He didn't know why he was remembering that. He really didn't want to think about her. He had gone some days without thinking about her at all, so why was she appearing in his mind now?
Why now?
But the girl standing before him wasn't Jess. She was Tesia.
The girl who had appeared out of nowhere in his life.
That girl who was a vampire but did completely human things, the girl who slept until noon, who fell asleep watching TikTok, who laughed at his stupid jokes and had decided to call him suicidal human friend as if it were the most normal nickname in the world.
The girl who seemed to know him from another life. The girl who texted him every day, who came to pick him up from work several times a week, always waiting for him with that same smile.
It's only been a few weeks…
And for some reason, being around her made him feel at peace.
She's too good to be true...
Jean looked at her again.
"Tesia, I…"
He wanted to say it...
But before he could finish…
"C... c... c-c-c-c-c!"
Jean blinked.
"C... c... c...c...?" Jean thought.
"Tesia?"
The vampire's eyes opened wide before her expression suddenly turned terrified. She closed her eyes as if she wanted to disappear and…
Suddenly, she hugged him.
"Tesia!? What's wrong?"
She didn't answer.
She simply clung to him even tighter.
Jean felt Tesia practically hiding against his neck. Somehow, she had ended up sitting on the human's lap.
"Tesia, calm down. What's wrong?"
Jean had no idea what was happening.
Then he felt her breathing near his neck.
Her scent.
The contact of her body against his.
The softness and fullness of her chest against his own.
And then his brain decided to remind him that he was, in fact, a man, and that he probably shouldn't enjoy something like this quite so much when he had absolutely no idea how or why it was happening.
There would be a price to pay for that softness…
No.
Jean went completely rigid.
No, no, no.
He tried to think about anything else.
"Think about a nun. Think about the Pope. Think about Obama. Think about Juan!" he thought, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Uh, Tesia, could you please…"
Just then, Tesia suddenly turned toward the floor, looking absolutely terrified.
"Are you ok?" Jean asked.
The vampire exhaled in relief. It seemed like everything was finally over, until…
She looked over and realized she had been completely wrong.
You see, Tesia was a strong girl. Brave, fearless, and truly, there was nothing in this world that could stop her.
Except for one thing.
One single thing.
Something with legs and antennae.
Her nemesis.
The one thing that could make her tremble and completely lose her composure just by showing up.
Cockroaches.
The cockroach that had seen her—and she was absolutely certain it had looked directly into her eyes for a moment—had moved.
Now it was on the wall behind the couch they had been sitting on.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Tesia clung to Jean even tighter, and Jean jumped with the vampire still in his arms. He had absolutely no idea what was happening.
"JEAN!!! THERE'S A COCKROACH OVER THERE!" she cried, almost in tears.
"A COCKROACH?!"
Jean felt a shiver run down his spine.
"THERE! THERE, JEAN! THERE!"
Tesia desperately pointed toward the wall behind the couch.
Jean looked.
A tiny cockroach was calmly making its way up the wall, then back down again, until suddenly it spread its wings and began flapping them, as if making a bold statement: it was declaring war on both the human and the vampire.
"…"
"…"
Jean looked at Tesia.
Tesia looked at Jean.
The bug spray… where did I leave the bug spray? Jean tried to remember.
"You have to do something… that thing is going to fly, Jean…" the vampire said nervously.
"Stop moving so much, Tesia, or I'm going to fall. Besides, think about it. If you keep moving, it's going to think we're afraid of it. What if it flies over here? It'll be hard to dodge it with you in my arms…"
"How am I supposed to not be afraid?! That thing is like five centimeters long!"
"Shhh!"
Jean sighed.
"Okay, okay, little cockroach. We just want peace."
He slowly and carefully walked over and set the vampire down on the other couch, far enough away from the tiny threat.
Tesia immediately grabbed a cushion and held it in front of herself like a shield.
"Kill it!"
"On it!"
Jean grabbed a magazine from work that was lying on the table.
He rolled it up.
"All right…"
He looked at the cockroach.
The cockroach looked at him.
"Apparently, diplomacy has failed. Violence is our only option. One of us is dying today."
Either I kill that thing, or Tesia kills me for failing to kill it…
"JEAN, DON'T LET IT ESCAPE!"
"I'm trying!"
The cockroach suddenly flew toward Jean and Tesia.
"AAAAAAAAAAA!"
Jean ran after it.
Tesia screamed from the couch.
"DON'T LET IT GET CLOSE!"
"STOP SCREAMING! YOU'RE MAKING ME MORE NERVOUS!"
After several minutes of chasing it around, smacking into furniture, and causing a completely unnecessary level of chaos just to kill a tiny insect, Jean finally managed to squash it.
Tesia watched from a safe distance.
"Is it dead?"
Jean lifted the magazine.
"Yeah."
Silence.
"Are you sure? Like, really sure?"
"Tesia…"
"I'm just asking so we can be sure."
Jean sighed.
"Yes. It's dead."
The vampire let the cushion fall from her hands.
"Thank goodness…"
///
Night had fallen over the city by the time they finally left the apartment.
The streets were illuminated by the yellow glow of streetlights, and people were still walking from one place to another. Some restaurants were still open, and cars constantly passed along the avenues.
Jean walked beside Tesia.
Both of them were strangely quiet.
After a few minutes, Jean decided to break the silence.
"It's a pretty lively city, isn't it?"
Tesia looked up.
"Yeah…"
Her answer was much quieter than usual.
Jean glanced at her.
She seemed to be avoiding his gaze, too.
Whenever their eyes met, they both remembered what had happened on the couch and quickly looked away.
"Is it this way?" Jean asked.
"Yeah… yeah, we're going the right way."
Tesia seemed distracted.
Eventually, they reached a much quieter street.
Jean looked up and suddenly stopped.
In front of them stood an enormous mansion.
Tesia stopped as well.
"Oh, welcome to my home..."
Jean's mouth fell open.
"What's wrong?"
Jean pointed toward the house.
"Is this it?"
"Yeah."
Jean looked at the mansion again.
My apartment is probably the size of her bedroom, and every time we go out to eat, we go somewhere that isn't expensive at all, and yet she's always so happy…
"Damn…"
Tesia tilted her head.
"What?"
"No, nothing."
Jean smiled.
"It's a beautiful house. I was just thinking that… you're probably more used to nicer places than the ones I take you to… No, never mind. Forget I said that. It's a beautiful home, Tesia. Thank you so much for today, and for letting me walk you all the way here."
Tesia smiled back.
"Thank you for walking me home."
There was a brief silence.
"And sorry about the cockroach drama..." Tesia said.
Jean laughed.
"Don't worry, it's fine."
"Hey… about what was happening before that horrible insect attacked us…" Tesia stopped.
Jean looked at her.
He knew exactly what she meant.
The moment on the couch.
The closeness.
The possibility that something might have happened.
The what if that never became reality.
Jean could see the blush spreading across the vampire's cheeks.
She's really from another world.
That was what he was thinking.
She has money… status… a life that's already figured out.She's probably experienced so many beautiful and exciting things.She's probably seen almost everything by now. What could even surprise her anymore?She's lived for decades before I ever showed up in her life.
She's completely out of my league.
Jean felt that insecurity creeping back in.
What was I thinking?
For a moment, he had thought maybe it could work.
But maybe it couldn't.
Maybe he was simply confusing the peace he felt around her with something more.
"Do you…"
The vampire looked at him.
"Well, no… never mind."
Jean smiled.
"Huh?"
"Forget it."
Jean slipped his hands into his pockets.
"We're okay, right?"
Tesia remained silent.
"We're friends."
Jean smiled a little more.
"I had a really good time today. Thanks for being my friend."
Tesia looked at him.
Jean continued.
"And I also wanted to apologize for earlier. That moment on the couch… when I ended up so close to you. It probably wasn't comfortable for you. We're friends, and I…"
"Jean."
He stopped.
Tesia stepped closer.
"Yeah?"
She gently grabbed his shirt.
Jean's eyes widened slightly.
Tesia pulled him closer.
"Idiot…"
She rose onto her tiptoes and brought her lips close to his ear.
"I'm your friend..."
Jean held his breath.
Her cheeks were completely red.
"But if you still have doubts about my intentions…"
She continued, her lips only a couple of inches from his ear.
"I mean it when I say I want to be more than that."
Jean stood completely still.
"More than…?"
She smiled and, before he could say anything else, gave him a small kiss on the cheek.
"Good night, Jean."
Tesia released his shirt, turned around, and quickly walked inside her house.
Jean remained frozen in place.
The door closed.
Jean slowly raised a hand to his cheek. He could still feel the kiss.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Tesia stood perfectly still.
She clasped her hands against her chest.
She lowered her gaze.
Her smile had disappeared.
For a few seconds, she simply remained there, completely serious.
"…"
Almost as if something were weighing on her.
1 Thanks for reading and the support, love ya <3 it means a lot to me to continue writing <3