“So, his nose just bled, and he passed out?” Kiyoshi questions.

I nod, “Can’t you feel it? Something about him is off. Even Dr. Barwick knows something is up! I think Barwick knows more than he leads on and is just not telling me. Oran seems harmless but maybe it’s a trap...”

Kiyoshi sighs, “Not everything is a trap from your father Tallius. You haven’t heard anything from your family for months, maybe they have really given up on you.”

“My father doesn’t just give up… He could be using this Oran kid to get to me.” I answer.

“Well, maybe so. But I really don’t think so, I think Oran is an innocent guy who simply doesn’t know what he is.” Kiyoshi smiles, “You’re just trying to find a reason as to why you’re so interested in him.”

“T-That isn’t true! Are you not interested in him? Have you ever come across someone like him?” I shout.

“Hahaha! Come on Tallius it was a joke.” Kiyoshi laughs, “I am interested, but there isn’t anything I can do.”

“Yes, there is… You’re more powerful than me because you have already gone through the full change.” I smile.

Kiyoshi rests his head on his hand, “What are you suggesting?”

Tallius thinks for a moment, “How about you try to look into his mind.”

“That’s your gift, I’m not very strong in that area. Have you tried while he was asleep?” Kiyoshi questions.

“No… But when I tried to read his mind before he could see me, so it is possible that he will be fully conscious while I try and do that. Plus, I’ve never done anything like that to someone, and I haven’t gone through the full change…” I answer.

“Entering someone’s dreams in person isn’t hard at all. Going through the full change isn’t hard at all, you just refuse to do it.” Kiyoshi laughs.

“I just don’t want to do it, okay?” I answer.

“But why? This is what Incubus do!” Kiyoshi laughs again.

“Exactly” I grit my teeth.

“What? I think it’s pretty fun.” Kiyoshi smiles.

“I’m not ready.” I sigh.

“This is why you should have changed a long time ago! And it’s not like you have to do this. Just leave Oran be, for the time being he isn’t doing any harm.” Kiyoshi laughs.

“You’re always pressuring me… I know I don’t have to do anything, but it would give me some peace of mind…” I answer.

“This is why I hate giving you advice.” Kiyoshi says getting up from his seat, “If you can’t do it, then I guess I can try. I promise I won’t do anything weird to him.”

My face lights up with excitement, “Thank you!”

“Hey, hey. Not so fast! I will do it under one condition. You and your roommates come to my birthday party tonight.” Kiyoshi smirks.

“Eh? Really that’s it?” I question.

“Yes, unless--” He smiles.

“Deal.” I reply quickly.

I get up from my chair and head back to the dorm. Entering the room, I find Sparky and Oran sitting on the bed together looking at something on Sparky’s phone. I set my things down and sit down on my bed. If my plan doesn’t work, I can always try get more information out of Dr. Barwick. He may be stern sometimes, but he is pretty easy to bribe. Even if I can somehow get into Oran dreams, there may not be much information there. If I could drift into his memories, I could get the most information but that would be impossible with my skill level.

Sparky’s laughter breaks my line of thought. He must be showing Oran funny videos to try and cheer him up. I drag my bookbag over and pull out my homework. I guess I should do some of it, so I don’t completely fail. As I’m sliding out the paper, the edge of the paper slices my skin. Ouch.

Oran looks over to me and stares at my finger. I can hear his pulse increase from over here. He is thinking that I am a vampire, what is this? He gulps hard and looks away. I get up and wrap a tissue around my finger and sit back down.

“Haha! Did you get a paper cut?” Sparky laughs.

“Yeah…” I answer. Just because I’m a demon doesn’t mean I don’t bleed and feel pain, Sparky neglects to think about that sometimes and thinks I’m like a superhero or something.

I sigh and toss the tissue in the garbage. I look over to see Oran is still visibly uncomfortable, his hands are shaking, and his face is red. Strange.

“I’m gonna go get a snack, want anything Ori?” Sparky asks.

“I’m fine…” he answers.

Alone…again. I can hear Oran’s pulse increase once again. I can’t tell what this means. I guess he is still super afraid of me. I haven’t done anything directly mean to him, but I guess he is just intimidated by my face and personality. Suddenly he shoots up and tries to rush over to the bathroom, but he trips and falls onto my bed instead. Ah, classic.

“S-Sorry!” he scrambles and sits up.

Perfect timing, I should touch him and try to get a better connection to his mind. I slide my hand over and grab his wrist. Nothing, that didn’t help at all, now I look even more like a creep. His face is beet red now and looks like he is on the verge of tears. He is scared to move. Somehow, I feel my pulse also increasing and something changing inside me. His sweet smell fills my nose and my eyes begin to blur.

Just in time for Sparky to walk in.

“Oh woah! Whatcha guys doin’ in here?” he chuckles.

“I-I was just checking Oran’s pulse.” I lie.

“E-Eh? You were?” Oran questions.

“That’s why I’m holding your wrist. You tripped just now, I thought maybe you were sick.” I answer.

“O-Oh, I see” he looks down.

“You guys are weird!” Sparky laughs and plops down on his bed with a bag of chips.

“Before I forget… Kiyoshi’s birthday party is tonight at Thorns, he told me to invite you both..” I say.

“Oh heck yeah! I almost forgot about it! Oh Ori you have to come! Zekuu’s band will be playing and it’ll be really fun!” Sparky squeals.

“Ah…Okay I’ll go.” Oran hesitantly says.