Chapter Text
The world is cruel. The world is unfair. The world is beautiful.
Three statements - all true.
It was a philosophy comparable to the inconsistent triad; the world cannot be both cruel and unfair whilst also being beautiful. Or perhaps Pyro was simply yet to see the beautiful.
It was easy to focus on that, letting his mind wander instead of thinking on his current predicament. He was laying on his back, staring at the branches of the swishing trees, and the slivers of the dark, starless night sky, which peaked through. A sharp, aching pain radiated through his body, though he tried his best to disassociate from the feeling, instead focusing on how he was going to get home.
His tormentors had long since left, leaving him in this state. His legs were like jelly below him, and his arms still clutched his notebook over his chest. He should get up. He should really get up. But honestly? He didn't particularly want to.
It's not like his parents would notice. It was hard to get their divided attention recently, too focused on their work to give any love to their own child.
That being said, this was... pleasantly nice: the welcoming quiet, broken only by the rustling of leaves, the smell of wood and night, the moon shining down above him, and the feeling of soft grass and branches, cushioning his bloodied and bruised skin.
After some more moments of lying in silence, Pyro relented, and with a pained groan, he rolled onto his stomach.
He let out a huff, hesitating a moment longer to let the pain of bruises settle on his skin before he attempted to get up.
Putting his hands on the ground, and tensing himself, he pushed his weight against them and shakily lifted himself up. It was hard - and painful - but he managed to get onto his hands and knees, breathing laboured with the effort.
He leaned back so he was kneeling and wiped his nose, letting out a heavy sigh when he felt blood come up beneath his fingers. "Great" he mumbled, one hand resting against his temple and holding up his head as the other raked through his brown hair. Pieces of dirt and branches came up beneath his fingers and he let them fall to the ground with a frustrated click of his tongue.
Then - footsteps. His head snapped up towards the sound of overgrowth breaking beneath feet. He squinted, the faint silhouette of a man - probably another student - slowly came into view.
In the rapidly decreasing light of the clouded moon and stars, he could make out only hazy details of the guy.
His figure seemed built; square shoulders and a form hidden beneath his jacket. Hands were stuffed into pockets and his hair seemed vaguely shaggy from what he could tell, seemingly darker in colour, though it was hard to differentiate in the unlit woods.
Pyro cleared his throat, unable to quite tell if it was his tormentors, though they were bound to be home by now, kissing up to their parents, so he was unsure who this new person was.
They stepped closer until they were stood maybe a foot in front of Pyro. He stared up at them for a moment, a little taken aback, because this definitely wasnt one of his tormentors, but who the hell else is out and walking about at this time of night?
"Um. Are you okay..?" The guy said, his voice echoing slightly in the dark woods. His voice was low and had an accent that Pyro couldn't quite place, but was obviously lined with confusion and the slight tinge of worry.
Scrambling to get up, Pyro took a few steps back and squinted in an attempt to once again try and make out the man's details, though it was to no avail. He grit his teeth and suppressed a groan as he shifted his weight onto his feet.
Pyro could, however, hear the - extremely faint - breaths of air, and he could smell a lingering scent that followed the mysterious man. It smelt almost like iron; blood, but there was something else too. He wasn't sure what to make of it, so he chose to ignore it. The smell of blood was probably his own, after all.
"I'm- uh. I'm fine. Just um..." he trailed off eyes darting elsewhere as he tried to think of some excuse. "I'm, ah, writing my paper?" He cringed as his tone made it sound more like a question than a statement.
He moved his hands slightly from where he clutched his notebook to his chest, as if to weakly gesture at it.
The man didn't respond, but Pyro could swear he could see the indistinct raise of an eyebrow. "I work better outside.. at night... on the ground. Yeah" the excuse, granted, was phrased more like a statement this time, but it didn't sound particularly convincing, even to his own ears.
They stared for a couple more minutes, before letting out an unconvinced, "..right"
Great, now this random stranger thinks he's a freak too. To be fair, though, it was unlikely that they would be able to make out his features in the darkness, so the only way they would know who he is would be through the sound of his voice.
The pair stood there awkwardly for a minute, before Pyro backed away by a few steps. "I'm going to go..?" He mumbled, not taking his eyes of the obscure figure of the student (?).
Well. That sure was something.
.
.
.
.
Pyro found himself thinking on the strange interaction through the majority of his lecture.
In his defense, it was pretty hard to just ignore what had happened!
Throughout the lecture, he tried his best to draw on the details, though they seemed even hazier than last night, his memory clouded by his own blood. One thing he could remember, however, was the way the guy had acted.
For example - before he had heard the footsteps? It had been completely silent. And when he had heard them, his (possible?) assailant had been maybe about 10 or 15 feet away from him. It was almost as if they were trying to be heard; to make their presence known to Pyro. Which begs the question: how were the footsteps so quiet beforehand?
And, at the distance Pyro had heard them, he would be surprised if they had noticed or even seen him by that point. So: either the man hadn't noticed him until Pyro had cleared his throat, or the man could see in the dark, which would obviously mean he is... less than human.
...Maybe a vampire?
Look, Pyro can't help it! Vampires were interesting, and with all the knowledge he has on them, he'd be damned if he didn't draw up similarities between the two.
It was interesting theory, though it lacked any specific proof, apart from the unreliable memories of what had happened, which were bound to have inaccuracies.
Instead of wasting his time with this hypothetical (which really, he never should've even though about in the first place. Vampires don't exist, he shouldn't even suggest it), he tucked away his train of thought and tried to focus on the lecture.
Yesterday, when he had been jumped, he had managed to protect his notebook from most of it, though it was still less than presentable. Thankfully, he'd had a spare one he found after scrounging about in his room for a little while, and used that instead. It was mostly empty, apart from a few ramblings about nighttime ideas he had regarding his papers.
Before he knew it, the lecture was over, and Pyro sighed as he looked down at his workbook and found it filled with little more than scribbled down theories about the previous night. He'd have to find the lecture online and redo his notes then.
Whatever. Any way to pass the time.
The people around him stood up, chatting and slowly exiting the class room.
After some seconds, he closed his notebook with a sigh and pushed away from his desk. Pyro delicately placed it into his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
The last few people of his class were filing out now.
It was a pretty small group - about 30 of them in his class - and he knew all of them by name.
But, he noticed someone he didn't know.
Talking to his professor, was a guy he didn't recognise; probably a transfer. They got them pretty often throughout the year, but they seldom lasted long.
However something about this one caught his eye.
His physique was similar to that of the peculiar man from the previous night. While Pyro didn't want to yet jump to conclusions, he couldn't help notice parallels between the two: similar height and build (from what he could remember), hands stuffed into his pocket, and his posture straight, but not quite, almost as if he is forcing the look of something casual.
Despite Pyro's slight guilt for it, he strained his ears to listen to their conversation, picking up a few bits.
From what he could tell, it seemed to be just some questions about the history lecture. More work than most transfers put in, so Pyro could only assume he planned on sticking around.
In the brief moment pyro glanced at them, he did well to study the way they looked. They had black hair, split dyed into white at the front, and downward lashes (a rare colour for someone's eyes to be naturally, though Pyro overlooked it for now). His skin was clear and he wore gold cross earrings on ears that were covered by his hair.
Pyro was about to look away, convinced this guy was worth none of his time, when he saw something: a flash of white teeth, seemingly normal apart from two near the front seemed just a tad too long, and a tad too sharp, to be human.
However, before he could get a better look, they closed their mouth, and Pyro was left looking like an idiot, frozen and staring at some weirdly ethereal dude.
They made eye contact and Pyro was given that same cold, not-quite-glare, not-quite-stare, look from them.
Even from the distance they were at - which had to be at least 10 yards away - Pyro couldn't help but notice how beautiful and terrifying their eyes were. They were a dark, piercing red that almost caught Pyro off guard.
Pyro quickly ripped his eyes away, feeling himself tense up at the creepily claustrophobic feeling of eyes on the back of his head. He felt them following his movements, before he got to the exit and dared to look back.
The guy had since looked away, but Pyro couldn't help but feel like he redirected his attention back to the professor he was talking to only because Pyro looked back.
The new student was certainly... interesting. It would be best for Pyro to talk to him, especially with those fangs...
Not because he thought they were a vampire or believed in them or anything!
He just had to, uh, check. Just in case.
And he should probably apologise for the other night too. Even if they didn't remember him.
.
.
.
.
Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.
Pyro couldn't do this. Pyro doesn't know how to talk to people. Pyro certainly cant talk to a guy he not only doesn't know, but is also so much better looking up close.
See, this is why Pyro doesn't speak to people. Ever. Too awkward: what do you say? how do you stand? where do you place your hands? how close do you stand?
The point is, there is too much to think about and Pyro did not have room for any more stress.
So, here he was, trailing this random dude from a couple feet away, like some terrible stalker. His palms felt sweaty and he had to force himself to keep them steady. Letting out a shskey breath, he hesitated again.
This was a bad idea. A terrible idea. He obviously wasn't a vampire at all. He probably doesn't even remember Pyro at all. He should leave--
Even worse. Everything keeps getting even worse.
Over there, just leaving the library, was a couple of his tormentors.
Shit.
They were walking over. Either he runs, or he talks to this guy and prays that is somehow enough to make the group leave him alone.
Suddenly, the guy he was trailing turned around and god, it was so much worse up close.
... in a good way!
..But not for Pyro.
Those same red eyes were zeroing in on him, the expression on their face unreadable. The two were about the same height and their gazes met.
Pyro's heart rate picked up and he stopped in his tracks.
"Why are you following me?" The guy demanded. It was the first time Pyro had heard since the other night - confirming that him and the guy from the woods were the same people.
Pyro realised he was staring and quickly sputtered out a response. "I just wanted to- um" he breathed in. "To apologies. For the other night, I mean."
The guy lifted an eyebrow. "You hardly have anything to apologise for-"
Pyro was trying to focus on his words - he really was! But his least favourite people were getting closer and closer and he needed an excuse to not talk to them-
Before he could second guess it, he grabbed their hand and yanked them to keep walking, next to him this time.
He felt them stiffen up beneath his grip and Pyro internally cringed, hissing out a "Sorry- Just play along, please"
They kept walking and pyro kept his eyes firmly ahead, while his faux companion's darted around, before finally locating the group, who now lingered a little too close to not speak with them.
"Your avoiding them?"
Pyro glanced at him for a moment, then forward again, giving a small, curt nod.
"I'm abolish."
"Pyro"
The two had a chance to only exchange names before the group started toward him again. Pyro mumbled curses out under his breath.
"Jack Von Pyroscythe" Czesław greeted, with that sickly sweet tone he used when speaking to his professors. He looked pyro and Abolish up and down, seemingly amused. "With your..." he raised an eyebrow, eyes looking down, where pyro was still gripping Abolish's wrist, "friend?"
Pyro snatched his hand away, stuffing it into his pocket instead. "Yes. Me and Abolish were just- ah" pyro hesitated, unable to think of a plausible excuse.
See, this is exactly why he doesn't talk to people-!
Then, before Pyro can make a fool of himself, Abolish answers, "We were on our way to our next lecture" pyro feels the suspicious glare of Czesław's eyes on his back. Czeslaw knew his timetable. He knew- "we're actually running late, so if you don't mind, we must get going"
Abolish pushes past Czesław and Pyro is frozen for a moment, awe-struck, before he finds himself and quickly follows after him.
He could hear Czesław and his friends mumbling to eachother from behind them, but, lo-and-behold, they turned the other way and left.
The two finally reached a safe distance away and Pyro sighed in relief. "Thank you, Abolish"
"It's not a problem, Pyro" Abolish smiled, and Pyro swears he saw that flash of hidden fangs again, but they were gone again before Pyro could get a proper look. "Is there anything else you needed?"
That was right - Pyro had trailed Abolish indecisively for ten minutes both because he had to apologies, and to check put if he was a vampire. (Which sounds so much worse out loud, but allas)
Welp, here goes nothing. "R-right," and before Pyro could think better of it, "you, uh, wanna get dinner some time?"