“Hey!” Fred said before sitting down beside Jean who was hiding behind the university’s gym.

“What's the craic?”

Jean paused whatever it was he was doing with paper to look at Fred with wide eyes, messy hair pulled up in an equally messy short ponytail and dark circles under his eyes more prominent.

It made Fred feel uneasy, Jean's prolonged surprised stare, and it made him wipe his hands repeatedly on his checked shirt.

Jean quietly stared at him like that for a good while, hands hovering over green paper on the asphalt ground, and Fred was starting to think someone pressed pause on the guy.

“Uh…Hello there?” Fred tried again, slower, waving his in front of the guy's face. Jean not blinking made it all the more creepy.

“...Hi,” Jean said quietly, immediately looking down at his paper and folding it every which way.

He didn't say anything else and Fred guessed that maybe Jean was angry about Fred ditching him.

“I'm sorry about not making it yesterday.” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. It had been troubling him for most of the day, so much so that when he was headed out of the school and he had caught Jean's scent close by, he had nearly revealed one of his hidden quirks to find the guy.

“It's okay.” Jean didn't say anymore, lifting up the folded paper that now looked like a swan, close to his face before slumping against the wall behind him.

Fred didn't think he meant that, that it was okay.

“...Yeah,” Fred tried again. “I forgot about how turning passes me out for a good couple of days. You knocking me out Friday night actually shortened that up.”

Jean finally looked at him when he said that, eyebrows furrowed and lips opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“...That's why you didn't come?”

Fred's lips twitched, the only sign to how much self restraint he needed to not make a sex joke then and there. It failed.

Despite how inappropriate it was, he winked and said, “Yeah but there’s more than one way to make me come.” He definitely has to react to that one now.

Jean completely overlooked what he said.

“Oh,” Jean said, looking back down at the paper swan. “I was thinking you only said that because you needed to keep tabs on me so that I didn't tell anyone, especially the government, and risk your race getting hunted down like animals or experimented on for weapons of mass destruction. Or made into super soldiers to fight their enemies.”

Fred blinked repeatedly, trying to process that very detailed thought.

He then laughed, surprised at the realness of it, and bumped Jean's shoulder gently with his own.

“You watch way too many movies. You're as mad as a box of frogs, fam,” Fred said, chuckling as he folded his legs under him before taking a big breath.

He nearly choked at all the different smells, ranging from body odor to shit and to perfumes, but sighed when he caught the cold whiff of an autumn afternoon.

“Mad as a box of frogs? What?” Jean asked quietly, sounding very confused but it only made Fred chuckle some more.

“So what you wanna do for the rest of the day? You catch that deadline o’ yours?” Fred asked, turning back to his acquaintance, his plan to try and become Jean's friend underway.

“Oh...I dunno and I missed it.” The shorter man laughed nervously. He looked a bit confused, like he didn't know what to do next.

Fred pressed his lips together, trying to think of a way to get him more at ease with him. Right then, Jean looked a bit like a scared rabbit, unsure of where to go or what to do.

What would he like? What will get me on his good side again? Think, you sexy beast. Think.

Oh! That could work! Probably a bad idea but never know unless I try.

“Tell me something, Jean, my man.” Fred put an arm around Jean's shoulders, wincing slightly when Jean immediately tensed up.

“You ever met a vampire before? I assure you, they definitely do suck.”

#

Jean didn't like people. At least that was the impression Fred was getting from the way he kept his head down all the way up the dormitory.

“Yo Freddie! Who's your friend?” someone asked.

Fred smiled at the good-looking guy and changed the topic as smoothly as he could.

“Now is he the one you should be looking at when I'm right here?” Fred said, leaning closer as the obviously younger guy began to look nervous. “I might get a little jealous.”

The guy laughed nervously as he took several steps back. “Sorry man. You're awesome and all but I don't bend that way.”

“Oh?” Fred said, unable to help himself. “You bend other ways? Do tell. Be as explicit as possible.”

He sighed when the passing guys laughed, some patting the nameless man on the back for getting teased by Fred, while Fred himself slinked away with a quiet Jean on his right.

He let out another sigh of relief when they got to his own abandoned hallway, the darkness of it all making it look even more ominous, what with the covered windows and lack of hallway lights. Best place for his kind of people.

And Jean from the looks of things, Fred thought as his guest immediately straightened himself and walked into the dark hallway with more confidence than before. Like the darkness made him feel better and that was another thing added to Fred's list of Reasons Why Jean Is Weird.

“You brought someone.”

Fred hummed in response, glancing at Malcolm who stood on his right with hands in the pockets of his light pink sweats.

“That a problem?” Fred asked, voice sounding sickly sweet even to his own ears.

Malcolm rolled his golden eyes out of annoyance, simply moving his neck made his frilly sweater fall off his skinny shoulders.

“Make sure he doesn't bleed and we'd be fine. From how he's looking, one drop and he'd faint in seconds,” Malcolm said, German accent showing more when he was tired or aggravated. He looked both.

“No human blood, remember? Or do you want to increase the years of that little curse of yours?” Fred said in a sing-song way, earning a hard punch to the arm that made him hiss in pain.

“Who are you talking to?” Jean asked as he returned from his inspection of the dark hallway.

“Could you make yourself visible?” Fred asked the vampire.

Malcolm looked at him, a bushy black eyebrow raised curiously.

“I'll give you more of my blood,” Fred said with an exasperated sigh.

When Jean gasped and jumped back with surprise, he guessed that meant it was a deal.

“Should I do the voice?” Malcolm asked Fred in a whisper.

“Please don't,” Fred begged, face in a grimace.

“But he'd love it. Come on,” Malcolm said.

“No.” Fred did not want or like the voice.

“My name is Count Michaelis,” Malcolm said, doing the voice, clawed hands raised and fangs showing. “I am an all powerful vam-pyre. Blah blah blah.”

“I am throwing out that Hotel Transylvania movie. I swear to the fucking gods, Malcolm!”