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For the past few years since Leon started bringing him to his home, Emil had never remembered the other's bed being so warm. It was oddly softer and definitely cozier to the touch. It was bizarre. The last time he felt it, it was itchy and hot.
Emil smiled to himself, feeling every inch of the blankets and enjoying his new grip on his sense of touch.
The other teen doesn’t seem to enjoy the day as much. Leon groaned from the other side of the room as Emil kept popping gum, making a mess of a snow angel figure on his bedsheets.
"Dude, stop chewing so loud. I'll have my history quiz tomorrow," Leon said, sitting lazily on his desk chair with his knees hugged to his chest. Emil heard his desktop mouse continuously clicking.
"F," Emil said, still chewing loudly. "Mine's maths, first period."
“Did you study?”
Emil snorted sarcastically, partially to high-five himself and his tendency to slack off. “Tch, no.”
Leon clicked his tongue, reaching to his laptop's side and pulling off his headphone jack, letting his Spotify "fuck this shit" playlist ring across the average-sized room. The first song was straight up Die Antwoord, making the teens smile.
"Damn, whatever, I'll fail this semester anyway."
Leon hummed and stretched his arms over his head, accompanied by a sleep-deprived yawn and the crack of his joints. His oversized band tee hung loosely on his boney frame.
Emil rolled over and watched as Leon sat down on the bed. Distracted by the view of ribs and flat stomach, he wondered how Leom could eat whatever shit he eats everyday and still end up skinny. It was just so weird that the sodium-rich chips by the trashcan haven’t made him gain weight instead.
Wait, why was he staring at Leon’s stomach anyway?
He blinked, only to realize the other was speaking. He tried to ignore the sharp canines that subconsciously started to grow on his gums.
"Sorry, what? Dissociating."
"I asked how the thirst was going, with all the shit transformations and all," Leon said off-handedly and almost sleepily, and they both knew inside how amusing it was that the vampire subject was casual.
Well that was on cue, Emil thought, I was just wondering if I’m checking out Leon or just thirsting. Wait, is that the same thing?
Emil watched as the brunet teen reached over the desk for a pen and paper and crashed next to him on his bed, clicking the pen.
He recognized the cover immediately.
"You're seriously keeping all the notes about me now?" Emil looked at him in amusement. He did notice Leon was taking notes everytime they talk about him transforming.
"It's my year-end baby thesis," Leon said, rolling his eyes and not missing a beat. “You’re my year-end baby thesis.”
"Fuck you, you can't defend vampires in this era, dude! In this economy, nonetheless." Emil reached over and grabbed the nearest pillow, smelling strongly of Leon's menthol shampoo, and draped himself over it on his stomach.
Ever since he was bitten, his senses heightened, especially his taste and smell. Additionally, just as he had newly discovered, also his touch.
"That's exactly the challenge. I have to make this," Leon paused, gesturing wildly to Emil, "I mean you, believable."
"It's an academic thesis-"
"Irrelevant," Leon cut him off, clicking the pen twice by poking it on his cheek to shut him up, "I have to proceed to my research interview now, Drac."
"Really, Leon?" Emil raised a brow in disbelief while the other maintained a straight face. He finally groaned in defeat, rolling over to his back and facing his edgy bestfriend's bold red ceiling. "Fine..."
Thinking of his transformation to a baby vampire, it wasn’t really anything alien to him. It was somewhat a gradual process. The only vampiric thing he had done as of yet was eating his first live prey, a hare, at the moment of transformation. His thirst now, though? It just reminded him of one thing.
"Blood."
"What blood?" Leon glanced at him with wide eyes before writing it down immediately.
"Nah, just kidding. It's just like when you're so lazy to drink water and you pass it off as just having dry lips and the weather being cold?" Emil shrugged, humming to himself, "That didn't make sense, did it?"
"Might make sense if you elaborated," Leon said, writing on his pad paper.
"It's like being dehydrated, but not severe. I believe it might get worse though. It might be that it has phases or triggers and that it gradually gets worse, like I don't know, maybe hormones or the moon phase or prey being present..."
Emil gulped and licked his lips, and only realized what he had done. It was out of habit, and he usually had his chapstick somewhere especially when he's up north in winter, but it was just odd since it was summer. He sighed and shifted on the bed. His lips were just dry, nothing else.
Leon isn’t a prey, Emil. He chanted internally to himself. Keep yourself together. Think of an excuse, think of an excuse—Oh! Fries.
"I'm craving fries right now, but I don't think that had something to do with-"
"Hormones. I think it's hormones," Leon cut him off once again, tapping his pen on his chin. Emil looked at him in silence, watching every curve of his face and how smooth it seemed to be sculpted. It was just then he realized Leon laid down and held the paper up to the ceiling, all while Emil stared at him unblinking.
"What?" Emil cleared his throat, looking away, “How can you say it’s hormones?”
"I don't know, gut feeling, I guess." Leon took a deep breath and pushed the pad paper shut, draping himself on the bed and giving up.
Emil did the same and stared at the stark red ceiling in silence. Now that he put it into perspective, it must take a lot of trust for Leon to stay being his friend even if he witnessed him biting a hare to the jugular once.
He never anticipated in his life he would get bitten, let alone being a biter himself, but who knows? One day he is just failing math and economics then suddenly...vampires.
Leon was a weird freak, but vampire biters chose Emil instead. The term freaks could make the two of them now. Speaking of freaks...
"Hey, Vlad knows a lot about vampires, right?" he asked.
"He cosplays Dracula every Thursday so...probably," Leon replied, not breaking his staring contest with his ceiling.
"I don't know about that cosplay anymore, maybe he is like me. Or the dude that made me this way, at least," Emil hummed. Now that he knew vampires are real, Vlad may not be as much of a crackhead everyone takes him as. Maybe he knows shit, right?
"Want me to talk to him tomorrow? He's in my history class."
"Hm, nice, thanks. I don't know. Don't fail history quiz, though."
Leon finally blinked and laughed to himself, rubbing his teary eyes and stretching once again, yawning. "I won't fail. We do have Vlad the Impaler and Ivan the Terrible as key terms on the quiz."
Emil laughed. "Aw, come on."