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Avid said he wasn’t going to save them; he said they weren’t worth saving. What did that mean for him? Legs was a doctor, he focused on helping people. Abolish had just been trying to take care of the town this whole time. Drift was a detective; she worked helping people and catching criminals. Shelby said she’d barely left her town for the first time to get to Oakhurst. Martyn was abandoned by his dad. Cleo was just a farmer. Pearl, Ren, Sausage—he didn’t know much about them, but they were good people.
Avid knew why no one listened to him. He sounded crazy, raving about vampires without even providing proof. He was an idiot for thinking anyone would listen to him; he just—he thought that he might be able to save someone for once.
But no. Avid was the cursed one here, Avid was a monster—just like Owen said. If he hadn’t been an idiot and started throwing out accusations left and right, maybe the vampires wouldn’t have started hurting people.
Avid just wanted to be useful for once. But he wasn’t. He’d never been useful a day of his life.
He killed Elle. The one person who he trusted and who trusted him. He’d hurt Owen, who just said how he’d lost everything to people like Avid. Sure, Owen was probably a vampire, but—the story he told? Avid didn’t think it was fake. That probably did happen, and Avid was just as bad as the “vampire hunters” Owen had talked about.
Avid sat on the dirt, not caring about getting his clothes dirty. He already had anyway, these clothes were ancient. Avid and Elle never had the money to buy new clothes.
***
He dug his nails into his arms, crescent shapes being indented on them.
He might be a bad person but—he still couldn’t get over how everyone had abandoned him. Even Drift, the person Avid trusted the most in Oakhurst, hadn’t said a thing. It made him want to tear his skin off, to rip his fingernails off one by one just to feel something.
He’d lost everything he’d cared about. He wanted to blame someone else, to say he was a good person, but deep down he knew he wasn’t. Everything bad that had happened to Avid was all his own doing.
His hands reached for his hair and pulled it harshly. He needed some sort of release for all these emotions. His chest was tightening, and his throat closed up. He just wanted to—he wanted to—
Tear his skin off, empty his stomach, scream until he didn’t have a voice anymore, bite his tongue off so he couldn’t say any more stupid things, rip his hair out in chunks, just tie a rope around his neck and h—
He was crying. He was mad and angry and tired and done with life and now he was crying?! It was so stupid. He couldn’t do anything to stop the tears streaming down his face; he couldn’t even breathe right.
***
He was gasping for air. He couldn’t keep it in, he was dying, he—he—he—
“Avid. What are you doing out of town all by yourself?” Through the murky haze of his thoughts, a sharp voice cut through. He couldn’t focus on it, though, he was too busy trying to catch his breath.
He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that if he couldn’t see whoever was talking to him, then they would just disappear. He didn’t know who it was; he didn’t care who it was. Avid just wanted to be left alone.
“Aw, come on, you can’t seriously be that pathetic. You won’t even look at me.”
Avid swallowed thickly. “I ca-n’t—” His voice cracked as he tried to speak. He just couldn’t. catch. his. breath.
His grip on his hair tightened and he pulled even harder. He had to calm down. The voice was right, he was pathetic like this. It was humiliating to think someone would see him like this. Crying, unable to talk, just useless in general.
A hand grabbed at his, uncurling his fingers to let go of his hair. “Don’t hurt yourself now.”
Avid let out an involuntary whine. He needed the pain; it was grounding, it helped him focus. He pulled back against the hand, but it held firm. “Let go.” He muttered, using his other arm to wipe his tears.
“Ah-ah,” The voice had a distinct accent, one that Avid was just barely recognizing. Scott. “You look much too cute like this. Like a mangy, wet, stray cat out on the street.”
That snapped Avid out of his thoughts. Despite it obviously being an insult, the way Scott said it made Avid feel...happy? He stopped crying, although his breathing was still uneven. “Um, I don’t—”
“Maybe I should take you in,” Scott continued, paying no mind to Avid anymore. “You’re already entertaining enough in the town, surely you wouldn’t mind being mine to care for, right?”
Avid paused, the thought of getting close to Scott (bleh) battling with the thought of getting close to Scott (oh). “As if I would ever willingly hang out with you!” Avid burst out, cheeks flushing red with embarrassment.
Scott frowned, but it wasn’t real. It looked more condescending and pitying. “Oh, so you wouldn’t want to live with me in the castle? Such a shame, I guess you’ll just have to go back to the town.” Avid winced, thinking of the reason why he had left for the forest in the first place. “But it doesn’t seem you’re on very good terms with them, are you?”
“I—”
“So then, where will you go? You can’t seriously be considering living in the woods where anything could hurt you. Not to mention no one would hear you screaming for help.” A smile spread across Scott’s face, sharp teeth baring more like a threat.
“I could move in with Ren! I don’t think he would...mind.”
Scott stared at him deeply in the eyes, and doubts started creeping into Avid’s mind. “I suppose he wouldn’t. Although I thought he moved out of town to get away from everyone. You draw attention, Avid.”
He did, didn’t he? With all the yelling about vampires, he would probably make Ren a target. But where else would he go?
“My offer still stands,” Scott said idly, almost as if he heard Avid’s thoughts.
“But you—there’s no way you want me around for no reason, what do you want from me?”
Scott looked taken aback—offended—at the comment. “I didn’t have a reason, per se, I just enjoy your company.” Avid stared at him, unconvinced. Scott looked thoughtful for a second, almost like he was thinking of a price for Avid to pay. “Well, it is hard to find animals in these woods, and I really don’t want to hurt anyone in town but...I might not have a choice.”
Avid froze. What was Scott—?
“It would be so helpful to have an easy source of blood, but I just—I loathe the thought of feeding off of someone without their consent.”
“I’d do it.” Avid blurted out without thinking, still staring into Scott’s red eyes. Eyes that looked like fresh roses, like that perfect moment when the sun sets, like fire that burned so brightly, that provided warmth and light. “I’d let you feed off of me, I mean. A-as long as you don’t hurt anyone in town.”
Scott smirked, and—wow, he looked so hot in the orangey hues of the setting sun. “Really?” He sounded surprised, and pleased, it made Avid’s insides feel warm. “You really aren’t as bad as I initially thought, Avid. That’s so thoughtful of you! And of course I wouldn’t hurt anyone in town, I’ve been trying to mind my own business, but it’s been a bit hard.” Scott looked at him pointedly. “With all the screaming about vampires, I mean.”
Avid ducked his head. He—he was stupid for doing that. It was clear that Scott was a vampire but—he didn’t deserve to be so rudely outed by Avid. Not to mention he hadn’t done anything wrong; Avid had just been yelling out baseless assumptions. “I’m sorry, that was stupid of me.”
“It was,” Scott grabbed his chin, rubbing his thumb in circles on Avid’s cheek. “but I’m glad you see the truth now. I’m not as bad as you thought I was.”
Avid’s breath hitched at the touch, but he hid it with a nervous chuckle. “Uh, yeah, you’re—” he swallowed, “—you’re a lot nicer than I thought.” He breathed out.
Scott smiled, then pulled his hand back. Avid leaned forward, desperate for Scott’s comfort. Scott chuckled softly, a sound that was sweet like sugar. “So, you’re coming back to the castle with me?” He asked, now cupping Avid’s face with both hands.
He melted into the contact, forgetting that Scott had asked a question at all.
The hands left him, Avid whined but Scott put on a disapproving face. “I won’t do it if you can’t pay attention to me. Answer my question.”
Avid blinked, then remembered what Scott had said. “Y-yes.”
“Good boy.” Scott cupped his face again. “And will you let me feed off of you?”
“Yes.”
Scott pressed a small kiss to Avid’s forehead. Avid smiled, his eyes fighting to stay open. He was just so comfortable in Scott’s hands, he wished they could stay like this forever.
“Come on now, little hunter, let’s go home.” Scott said, and Avid listened.