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Ranger was finally doing it. They paced relentlessly around that cliff side. The one they had shown Claire…God, a year ago now. They were doing this. They can't back out now. For once they weren't in their casual khaki shorts and park ranger uniform. They were dressed sort of nice—Well, as nice as they could in the early July heat—A nice pair of jeans and a short sleeve button up. The jeans were hot but they refused to wear shorts while confessing their undying love for that shifter.
After a few more minutes that felt like hours they heard the crunching of twigs and the quiet thump of footsteps behind them. They whipped their head around and saw Claire, in much more casual hiking attire. “Hey, sorry I'm a little late. I got caught up with work.” She said, slightly out of breath. “No you're all good, I got here way earlier than I needed too.” Ranger quickly responded. “So…what’s going on? You sounded kinda serious over the phone.” Claire questioned. “Uh-...I just wanted to talk to you about something. It's nothing bad! I promise.” Ranger answered. “Alright…? What do you need to talk to me about?” She seemed confused as she asked. “Here, let's sit down.” They both sat down on the ground. Claire just looked at Ranger waiting for them to explain why they wanted to talk. “Claire-” Ranger sighed, silently hyping themselves up. “We’ve known each other for almost three years now, and in that time we’ve gone from enemies to rivals to friends…and I hope it can become more. I've liked you for a very long time now. I still can't believe I almost told you that night you drove me home from the bar, but I'm ready now. I like you, and I really hope that you can like me back.” Okay, they got through the hard part. They looked up at Claire and saw her expression turn from surprise to almost disgust.
She was disgusted that they liked her. They were stunned, but after a few seconds they spoke “Claire, I-” They tried to reach out and touch her shoulder, but she backed away. “No! Don't touch me.” She basically spat out at them. They let their hand stay there for a while before letting it fall back to their side. “Claire…I'm sorry. I didn't-” They tried to apologize. To fix this. To make sure they didn't lose her. “Don't start.” She snapped. “I don't want your excuses.” She continued before turning away and started to walk back the way she came. Ranger quickly reached out and grabbed her shoulder. “Wait!-” They started. “Just let me leave!” The voice that had responded wasn't hers but they recognized it all the same. They were back in that town. “Isaiah! You can't just run off with this girl!” They yelled. “And why not! I'll finally be able to master my blood magic! To do something good with it!” He yelled back. “She's tricking you Isaiah! Why can't you see that!?” They tried to convince him. “Why do you always think something’s wrong!? She’s nice! You're being too paranoid!” He shouted at them. Ranger opened their mouth to respond, but Isaiah cut them off. “I’m leaving, you're not gonna convince me to stay.” And with that, he walked out.
Not even a second passed before Ranger was running out of their car. Running towards Isaiah and this Charlotte girl. Isaiah already looked shocked when they got there. He tried to go to Ranger but Charlotte quickly grabbed him by the jaw before pulling him back. She made him look at her and tranced him. “Stay here. Don't interfere.” She almost whispered to Isaiah. “Get off of him!” They yelled. She was in front of them in seconds, and before they could even respond her teeth were in their shoulder. They tried to fight back but they had no chance against a vampire. The world around them started to spin and then everything just went black.
They didn't wake up in the hospital with their memories taken. They woke up…nowhere. This dark abyss with nothing and no one except themselves and the monster in front of them. They were everyone. Claire, Diane, Isaiah, their father, even their mother. This abomination of everyone they've ever known. Everyone they've ever loved. They could almost feel the overwhelming feelings of hate radiating off of the amalgamation in waves. They just sat there. Too overwhelmed with emotion to move. Then it spoke. “You will never find someone that loves you the same way you love them. You'll only get hurt more.” They heard Claire, Isaiah, everyone say those words. It was right. They always end up heartbroken at the end of the story. The monster in front of them slowly faded.
They woke up with a start. They quickly looked around. Find themselves not in their own home. They panicked for a second before realizing. Right, they slept over at the den. They were safe. They slowly got up and quietly opened their door before walking downstairs to the kitchen. This time, instead of hoping someone was up to talk to, they prayed no one was up. That no one would be up. They couldn't afford to fuck up another relationship.