I stared at the paper in my hand, then looked up, chewing on my lower lip. I feared I was gaining a lot of unwanted curiosity as I stood there at the corner of the street between a bank and a gym. There were more stores down the street, but as I continued walking, I couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. Absolutely zero vampiric grocery stores.

There was a small purple sticker on the white wall, and I stopped to read it. The words were not English, but I tried my best to read them. It looked like any other sticker people were gluing everywhere, but the instructions said I had to stop by it to start the process of… finding the store?

It was at this moment that I questioned my sanity. There was a big grocery store somewhere close to me, but I could not see it, not before I had attuned myself with it. Vampires, werewolves, magic… It was exciting of course, but… Was I just crazy after all?

I finished reading the words, whatever they meant, and continued walking to the next building. It was big, brown, and the bottom floor had no windows, and only one door that looked like no one hadn’t opened it in years. I suspected this was the place where the store would finally show itself to me. I peered down at my paper. It mentioned six pillars, so I looked up and saw them on the alleyway between the brown and white buildings.

Following the instructions, I walked on the right side of the pillars until I reached the fourth one. I walked around it and started heading back toward the street, passing by the third pillar on its left side, then the second one on its right, and the last one on the left again. Then I stopped, faced the first pillar, and closed my eyes.

If there was someone watching me right now… At least I only had to do this once, and the store would always be visible to me.

I counted until five, and when I opened my eyes again, another purple sticker had appeared on the pillar. I read the weird words on it and turned to face the brown building.

And the store was there. I had to take a few deep breaths as I stared at it. It looked just as colorful as the human markets, but when I carefully approached it, I saw the weirdest things through the massive windows that were suddenly there now.

The first thing I had to stare at was the twisting, turning, weirdly shaped and even more oddly colored fruits. They were exactly what I thought magical fruits would look like, but seeing them right there on their shelves and boxes made me feel so odd I had no idea what to do with myself. I mean, there were carrots. They looked like carrots, they were named as carrots, but some of them were icy-blue and others were black with orange leaves.

Then I realized the cashier was staring at me behind the registers. I promptly lifted my hand to a greeting and entered the place with an embarrassed smile on my face.

“You all right?” the woman asked with a smirk.

“Hi! Sorry, I’m new…”

“Yes, I can tell,” she said, gesturing for me to come closer. “I take it that your attuning went fine? No trouble at all?”

“It was fine. I had very good instructions,” I said, waving the piece of paper.

“Is this the first time you attuned yourself with a shop?”

“Uh-huh. I learned about you guys like a week ago…” I muttered.

“Oh! Well in that case, welcome to our world! Here, take a candy,” she said, took a basket and offered it to me.

I peered at the candy. They sure looked like candy, but nothing I recognized. I grabbed something wrapped in blue paper and opened it. It looked like chocolate. It tasted like chocolate, but…

“Neesnir,” she said.

“Bless you.”

“No,” she said and laughed. “Neesnir is a fruit. Kind of like an apple.”

“Ohhh,” I breathed out, blushing in embarrassment.

It really didn’t taste just like an apple though. But it was good. Kind of like… Apple and… banana? With mint? Or chili? I had no idea. The different flavors came one at a time the longer I chewed it.

“So! Is there anything specific you need?” she asked, putting the basket away.

“More of these,” I said, pointing at the wrapper. “And I’m looking for garn cabbage and nemjan seeds.”

She squinted her eyes at me. “Those are pretty specific things. For a Feeder.”

“Yeah…” I said, hoping I didn’t need to explain anything.

“You said you learned about us a week ago? You meant us as in supernaturals?”

I nodded slowly.

“And you already know what a Feeder is?”

Again, I nodded slowly. “Is there a problem?”

“Were you approached by some guy or a company promising good money for your blood?” she asked, leaning over the counter.

“Oh! No, no, no… I’m doing this for a friend,” I said.

“Oh, so you’re a personal Feeder?” she asked, her expression turning kind again. “Good, that’s good. You won’t believe how many shady businesses are trying to recruit humans to donate blood and not pay them enough. Always, always ask for at least fifteen bucks a bag, okay?”

“I’ll keep that in mind. But I’m just feeding my friend, that’s all,” I told her.

“Good. Come, I’ll show you where you can find your stuff,” she said.

As I followed her, peering at the products around me, I suddenly felt very small and a little vulnerable. If I hadn’t met Sirius, I never would’ve known about blood scammers. Blood scammers. What a world.

The woman helped me with what I needed and spent a moment showing me around. She was kind enough to explain what some of the products were and even gave me a couple of fruits and berries for free so I could have a taste. They all tasted fantastic and exciting, so I ended up buying way too much food for myself.

This store was just a few blocks away from my campus, but the bags were heavy, so by the time I got back home, my arms were jelly. When I stepped into my room, I realized my mistake: there was no way I could explain my blue carrots to my roommate. I could say they were props, but if he touched them, he’d learn the truth. Heck, he only needed to take a whiff to know the fruits were real.

But I was not throwing out thirty bucks worth of fruit, so I just grabbed my car keys and headed back out. I wanted to go see Sirius, so I could take the fruit to the clinic. I actually had no idea if he ate normal food. I hoped he did. I was more than willing to share my food with him. And everything else.

Platonically, of course.

When I arrived at the clinic, and Mike came to let me in, he glanced at my groceries, then at me.

“I got carried away…” I whispered with a grin.

He shook his head and let out a quiet laugh, then held the door for me so I could get in. A short moment later, I stepped into Sirius’ room, and spotted him reading a book in bed. He lifted his eyes, his lips spreading into a smile.

“What’s this?” he asked when I hauled the bags to the desk next to the fridge.

“I went to buy cabbage and seeds today,” I explained.

“Um…?”

“And… a few other things,” I chuckled. “Then I realized I can’t keep these in my room, so I brought them here.”

Sirius sniffed the air, his eyes on the bags.

“Do you eat food?” I asked him, and he nodded. “Great! I want to share these with you.”

He looked like he wanted to object, but ended up pursing his lips together.

“That’s right. If I want to give you my food, I will give you my food, and you will eat it,” I spoke with a smile.

He laughed and put the book away. “Do I not have a say in the matter?”

“Nope.”

“Noted.”

“Finally.”

I left the bags on the desk and went to sit down on his bed, taking in his beauty. He glanced at me, then looked away for a moment, then glanced at me again. I knew I was staring, but I couldn’t stop staring. He had a tiny smile on his face, and his blue eyes sparkled.

But I feared I was making him uncomfortable, so I ripped my eyes off him and turned my attention to his book. I didn’t really care about the book. His long, slim fingers were much more fascinating to look at.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, touching his hand to check his temperature: cool, but not freezing cold.

“Again, much better, thanks to your blood,” he said, closing the book, but he didn’t move his hand away from mine. “It’s… really doing wonders…”

“That’s awesome,” I said, looking up at him. He was looking at our hands. “Are you hungry?”

He glanced at me. “Not really, but I guess I should eat…”

His eyes didn’t turn red, which I assumed to be a good thing. “So you’re all right with me being your Feeder? I’m sorry I never asked.”

“I am fine with you being it, but… Well, you already know me. I think you’re being too kind to me,” he muttered, his cheeks gaining a little bit more color.

How adorable…

“You’re not used to people being kind to you?” I asked with a frown.

He seemed a bit uncomfortable with my question. “No… Not really…”

“Why would anyone not want to be kind to you?” I asked in shock.

He snorted lightly and smiled. “In my family, I was… kind of a…”

Now he was uncomfortable.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I hurried to say.

He let out a deep sigh and turned his attention back to my hand. He took it in his and studied my skin with his cool fingers.

“There is a term for someone like me: a trophy,” he finally murmured. “I was just a pretty face...”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” I said quietly.

“Nothing bad, but… My sire collected pretty people. We were his hobby. It’s quite common in big families to collect trophies, you see. I was never taken seriously, not by my family, not by anyone else. I was just meant to keep my mouth shut and look pretty,” he told me quietly. “If I tried to say something, I was treated like an idiot, and I believed them. It took me decades to learn out from that mindset.”

I had to hug him after he finished talking. He looked so… sad. He hugged me back gently, not in a hurry to let go.

“I think the worst part is that if my sire had seen me lying in a hospital, fighting for my life with dead man’s blood in my veins… He would’ve left to find someone to replace me,” he whispered in my ear.

I had no words. I felt too disgusted and too horrified to find words.

Sirius let out a sad laugh and pulled back. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to–”

“No. Please, don’t apologize. I am here for you, no matter what it is you need,” I told him gently. “And you are so much more than just a pretty face.”

I knew his first instinct was to argue back, and now I understood why. What I just heard, no matter how little it was, explained his behavior a lot.

“So you’ve never had anyone you can turn to?” I asked quietly.

“Not really,” he murmured. “I mean, I know good people, like Mike, but we usually just grab a beer every few months. It’s… But you don’t need to worry about it. When I said I’m fine by myself, I meant it. I’ve been much happier alone. I’m free to do what I want, and there’s no one telling me to shut up. Or ridicule me.”

His smile seemed genuine when he stopped talking, so I believed him. But in that case, his life must’ve been insufferable while his family was still alive.

“I see, but I’m afraid you won’t be completely alone from now on,” I told him with a smirk. “Because I will be here for you to turn to.”

His smile turned so warm I had to hug him again. I held him tightly for a long time, but eventually I had to let go of him.

“You should eat now,” I said, pulling my sleeve up. “And then I want to try the food I brought.”

I offered him my wrist, but he just stared at it. His eyes still stayed blue.

“Sirius?”

He glanced at me and slowly wrapped his fingers around my wrist. “I’ve met a lot of people in my life. But not anyone quite like you,” he said quietly, and turned to look at me. “I’d like to hear your story.”

“My story? It’s a boring one, I’m afraid,” I smirked.

“But a wholesome one, no doubt,” he said.

“Eat now,” I said with a chuckle. “Your food is getting cold.”

He laughed at my joke and moved his cold hand upward on my arm and pressed his lips on my wrist. He took his time now since he wasn’t starving, first making sure I couldn’t feel a thing, then drinking my blood. I watched closely as he enjoyed his meal, not having to worry about taking too much anymore.

After drinking as much as he pleased, he spent a while licking my skin until the wounds were fully healed. Then he took a deep breath and turned to smile at me.

“Your blood makes the pain fade away,” he told me, slowly stretching his neck and shoulders. “It’s like lotion on dry skin. Healing salve on aching wounds…”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I whispered. “Do you still feel sick?”

He shook his head. “Maybe a little, but it comes and goes.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to get out of bed soon?” I asked.

“Oh, definitely. I already feel like trying, but I shouldn’t strain my body too soon,” he said, pulling his shirt up to see the wound.

“Oh! It’s so much better now!” I said with wide eyes, leaning in to take a closer look.

“It is,” he breathed out.

The wound was clearly healing now. The stitches were still the only thing keeping the edges together, but his skin around it had turned smoother and less red. Like the edges were lining up and ready to start closing.

“With you as my Feeder, I should be strong enough to go see the penthouse next week,” Sirius said, giving me a careful look when our eyes met again. “If you’re still…?”

“Of course I’ll come with you,” I said. “I keep my promises.”

“I’m sorry I doubted you. That was rude of me,” he said, looking relieved with my reply.

I just shook my head with a smile on my face. “Is there still room in you for a dessert?” I asked and went to get the two heavy bags and brought them to him. “Some of these were really good.”

“I can have a nibble, yes,” he said, and took the fruit I offered him.

I stayed with him for hours. We talked about his world mostly, but he was curious to hear about my life as well. The fruits were amazing. His world was amazing. He was amazing. He seemed so much better, too. He was strong enough to keep talking, and he didn’t need help to sit up anymore. There was much more life in him now. That was amazing to watch.

And he sure was excited to get out of the clinic. We agreed to go check out the penthouse as soon as he was feeling well enough, carefully hoping we could do that in a couple of days. It had been a week since I brought him here, and the worst part seemed to be behind us. Now he just needed my blood.

When it was time for me to leave, my heart nearly broke when Sirius’ smile turned sad. He kept saying he was fine by himself, but he clearly wasn’t. I had the feeling he still didn’t quite trust me to return to him. Just to stay for a little bit longer, I asked if he wanted to have another sip of my blood, and he didn’t refuse my offer.

But then I had to go. I didn’t want to, but I had essays to write.

“I’ll take my papers with me tomorrow so I can work on them while you sleep,” I told him as I was walking to the door. “It’s so much more peaceful here, and you don’t have to be alone.”

“I’d like that,” he said.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” I said.

“I’ll be waiting,” he said with a brave smile.

“I won’t make you wait for long,” I promised, and left.

And man, it killed me to leave him alone.