Chapter Text
Owen stalked quietly down the path leading to the castle. This had been an extremely emotional day. That stupid, stupid doctor. Did he really think his words were helping? Were causing anything but pain?
Growling to himself, he slammed his fist against a tree, just trying to release some pent up rage.
Unexpectedly, a red banner on the side of the tree fluttered to the side of the tree. Owen's eyes were drawn to it, and soon he noticed an odd thing: a small hollow nestled behind the cloth. A hollow with a chest inside.
Curiously, Owen opened the chest. He raised an eyebrow at its contents: several notebooks and quills and jars of ink. He picked up the book on the top and, glancing around to make sure no one was watching, began to read.
“The broody vampire stood at the edge of the river bank, staring handsomely into the water. He threw a rock, disturbing the water where a reflection would have been had he not been a vampire. He looked dark and angsty, but secretly he wished someone would come talk to him.”
Owen frowned quizzically at the page. What was this? A story of some sort? He flipped through all the pages, a bit surprised at the length. Somebody had been busy. But who? Hadn't he heard Shelby say something about writing?
What did he do with this? Well, he could easily just toss it back in the hole and pretend he hadn't seen it. Shelby deserved her privacy, after all.
And yet, Owen had always enjoyed stories. When one was constantly isolated from people, books were a nice escape into different worlds of adventure. And besides, stories were never written just to sit in a book. They're meant to be read. Right?
Decision made, Owen closed the book and tucked it in his coat pocket, before turning into a bat and flying off to find a comfortable place to read. Just thinking about what Shelby could have written already had him in a better mood.
Soon enough, he was on top of the castle roof, leaned up against a nice sloped section around a window. He opened the book back to the page where he'd left off, wondering what this “broody vampire” was going to get up to.
“He looked dark and angsty, but secretly he wished someone would come talk to him.
“Just then, the vampire heard footsteps along the path. Not sure who it was, the vampire poofed invisible just in case it was someone he didn't want to talk to. And even if it was someone he did want to talk to, he could be extra mysterious talking from nowhere. The vampire loved being mysterious.”
Owen chuckled. There was something to be said about some nice mysterious talking from nowhere. He'd been known to do that once or twice, for sure. In fact, he'd done so just earlier that day.
“Up the path came the doctor, looking very nervous as he approached the water. The vampire supposed he would like to talk to the doctor. He was cooler than the rest of the humans.
“He snuck up beside the doctor. ‘Out for a midnight stroll?’ he asked mysteriously.
“‘Yes,’ the doctor said. 'I wanted to talk to you.’
“'A dangerous pastime, doctor,’ the vampire warned, whispering in the doctor's ear. ‘Still trying to save me? I've told you, it's a fruitless endeavor.’”
Owen settled in his seat a bit. Now, this was a bit too eerily accurate. Had Shelby been spying on them? This wasn't word for word the conversation he'd had with Legs, but it had the same vibes. But why write down their conversation in book form?
“The doctor looked all around, trying to make eye contact, but of course unable to find the invisible vampire. 'I vowed I would never stop trying to help you, Owen. I can't let you keep suffering the way you are.’
“‘Oh, please, doctor. We both know there's nothing you could possibly do to help me.’ The vampire sulked, walking around the doctor in a circle to keep him guessing at his location. ‘If anything, I should be the one helping you. Have you considered my offer?’
“The doctor shivered. 'I can't,’ he said softly. 'I don't deserve eternity. Much less... Eternity with you.’
“The vampire reached out his hand and caressed the doctor's cheek. ‘What a strange qualifier, doctor.’”
Owen was becoming more and more concerned. He shifted uncomfortably, glancing around again. What exactly was Shelby getting at here?
He couldn't stop reading, though. He had a really bad feeling about this, but it was like watching a train wreck. He couldn't look away.
“'I didn't ask what you *deserve,* I asked what you *want,*’ the vampire whispered.
“The doctor pulled away. 'I want to fix my mistakes, and then I want to die. That's all.’
“‘So dramatic,’ the vampire grumbled beautifully. ‘You could do so much more, be so much more.’
“The doctor forcefully changed the subject. ‘We found a cure. And you, you're one of very few we can save. Please, Owen. We could do this the other way around. You could come to our side.’
“The vampire grabbed the doctor's collar, pulling him close, becoming visible again. ‘Don't even suggest such a thing,’ he hissed. ‘Don't you dare take away the last bit of him I have left.’
Owen's eyes narrowed as he read. “You tell him, vampire,” he mumbled to himself. “They can't take this from you.”
“To the vampire's surprise, the doctor didn't flinch from his grasp. To the contrary, he reached out and held on to the vampire's shoulders.
“‘Please. I'm saying this with my whole heart. You don't have to leave him behind. He's too important to you for that. But at the same time, you have to let yourself *live*. Live with those who *love* you.’
“The vampire's grip loosened, his eyes searching those of the doctor's. ‘Who would love me?’ he bit out.
“In response, the doctor pulled him in closer, into a rough kiss. His hands found purchase in the vampire's hair, and--”
Owen snapped the book shut. If he were still human, he knew his face would be completely red, and as it was, he felt hot and flustered. “What?!”
Frantically, he rubbed at his face, as though scrubbing away even the thought of a *kiss* brushing his lips. This was absurd. Absurd!
He wanted to throw the book. He wanted to rip it to shreds. He wanted to drown it in the lake.
Owen made himself place it down on the roof calmly instead. He would not lose his temper over a book. He would not.
He was never going to be able to look Shelby in the eyes ever again.
Did she really think that about him? Did she think Legundo felt that way about *him*? The thought disgusted him.
Why would she write it if she didn't think so?
Carefully, he lifted the notebook's cover open, peeking inside again almost against his will.
“‘I'm a monster. No one can change that. I've killed thousands.’
‘And I'm a monster too,’ the doctor snapped. ‘I've seen just as many suffer and die because of me. The other humans have forgiven me, god knows why. Why wouldn't they extend that to you as well?’”
The contents of the next few paragraphs got, uh, extra steamy. Owen slammed the cover back shut.
“Impossible girl,” he snarled. Why? It would never work, this was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard of.
But it was written so *well*. The dialogue flow, the emotion packed into each line. It wasn't realistic in any sense of the word, but it was...
He peeked inside again, face hot with shame. What if she caught him reading this? Maybe she would think he *liked* it. Disgusting. Horribly disgusting.
Like the passionate scene in front of him he couldn't stop turning the pages of.
Unfortunately, the story cut off abruptly, halfway through a sentence. A large blot of ink suggested the girl writing it had been unexpectedly interrupted.
On the next blank page, something strange: totally different handwriting. “Fun story, Shelby! Uh, were we still gonna meet over by the obelisk tonight? -Avid”
Oh god, Avid had seen this atrocity too? Great, yet another reason to stake the new vampire as soon as possible.
Owen couldn't just let this stand. With a great heave, he threw the book as far away from the castle as he possibly could, aiming for the water below. He yelled out in rage and frustration. Did they all have to mock him so?
Lunging down from the rooftops, Owen landed delicately on the broken bridge and made his way across, heading for town.
Someone was going to die today. He just wasn't yet sure who.
--
Unbeknownst to Owen, down in the trees below the bridge, an exploration crew of humans was trekking their way around to the back side of the castle, hoping to glean as much information from the vampires as they could. As they trudged across the muddy banks of the river, Legundo suddenly spotted something ahead, stuck deep in the mud. A book?
He ran to it. Maybe it was the next cure book! Had the vampires found it and thrown it out?
The pages stuck together a bit as he pried it open, the water not being kind to the thick paper. But the ink still held, maybe enough to make out the words?
Legs dried it off as best as he could for now and tucked it into his bag for later. It was too dark to read it now, and they had to keep moving. He'd read it when he got back to his lab, safe from prying eyes.
--
Somewhere far away, Shelby suppressed a shiver. Something somewhere was going horribly wrong. She just couldn't put her finger on what it could possibly be.
Oh well. She cheerfully made her way down to meet her friend. They had a lot to talk about.