My writing project was far from my mind when I exited the meeting an hour later. Instead, I was wondering about him... Had he left straight away after me? Had he stayed and finished his reading? Where did he go when he left here?

Lost in my thoughts, I meandered out the front door of the library and onto the footpath, heading in the direction of the bus station.

The air this late afternoon was warmer than previous ones, hinting at the hotter days to come.

Pulling my headphones from my pocket, ready to drown out the noises on the double decker, I became somewhat distracted untangling the cord that I barely noticed the world around me.

Until a familiar, musical voice called out, "Olivia."

My head whipped up immediately, looking around before locking on the source of the sound.

And there he was up ahead, leaning against the brick wall, smiling at me.

A grin spread across my face, and I quickened my pace—trying to make sure he wasn't waiting, but desperate to not look too eager. Stopping when only a few steps from him, I asked hopefully, "Did you wait for me?"

"You have to finish telling me about those fairies," he replied, matter-of-factly, though I somehow felt as though he had sidestepped my question.

I felt at odds within me.

On the one hand, butterflies threatened to fly around my stomach at the idea that he was finding reasons to see me outside of our usual environment.

On the other hand, a sinking feeling brought that joy to a halt as I questioned whether the information I had to give him was all he cared for... if he had it, would he still want to see me.

But I quickly shook those hopeless desires from my mind, trying to not let the dark spiral of self-doubt take my thoughts hostage.

"Okay," I breathed. "Um... do you want to go to the park? Or back into the library?"

He shook his head. "I was thinking I could buy you dinner? I know it's a little early..."

I couldn't stop the giddiness from rising up within me as a smile spread across my face. "I'd like that," I said, quick to begin following him as he took steps down the path towards the street lined with shop fronts.

"How was the meeting?" he asked after a few moments of tension-filled silence.

I decided, in that moment, he was probably feeling just as awkward as me to be out of our normal environment we shared together. "Yeah, pretty good. Our task over the next week is to start putting our research together to build a world."

"What type of world are you building?" he continued to fill the dead air.

"I'm not a high-fantasy type of person. So probably paranormal."

"Have you thought about how you will... explain the myths in your story?"

Glancing at him, I was wary. "It's my idea, okay?"

He nodded. "Promise I won't steal it. I'm not much of a writer myself."

"What do you do then?"

Grinning, he shook his head. "I asked you first."

A sigh escaped me, but I reluctantly responded to his question. "Mutations. They're all mutations of human DNA. For example, Vampires' super speed, strength, and vision is part of their mutation that gets better the stronger the line. The blood drinking contains a nutrient they need. Witches are again a mutation. A small connection to all realms where they can bend the laws of physics, making things afar suddenly alight with fire, or remove gravity from an object so that it can levitate." I shrugged. "I just need to figure out the backstories as to why. I want all creatures to exist, like your friend's story. Not copying, I swear. But they're all mutations whereby the magic or facets of their being get stronger when bred with other mutations."

He was silent for a few seconds too long, as though mulling my words. Until he asked, "Can they crossbreed?"

"I was going to have them do this..." I trailed off.

"But?" he prompted, a thick dark brow popping up.

I bit my lip. "You mentioned that happened in your friend's story. And now I feel like it would infringe upon his copyright to his work."

Ben smirked and looked ahead. "Feel free to take that idea. He won't mind. I'll make sure of it."

Yet the conversation fell to a standstill, the only noise now the passersby and our footsteps against the pavement.

Unable to take the fact he hadn't commented on my story ideas, I ended up blurting out without thinking, "But what do you think? Realistic theory?"

He came to a stop, and so did I.

Eyes searching mine for an impossible length of time, I almost fell back into the whirling blue again until his low voice whispered, "Too realistic..."

I breathed a short deflated sigh. "So I should ditch it? Blame more on 'the power of magic'?"

Shaking his head, he replied, "Keep it. I like it. You need to believe in the story you write." Yet there was a sense of hesitancy marring his face... like he actually had much more to say, but was holding it back.

Before I could press, he opened the door behind him and gestured for me to go in.

Looking up at the building, I finally came back to our surroundings. Glancing through the opened door, I noticed tablecloths decorated the tables, multiple forks and knives set up in each seat, wine glasses available at each table, and a live pianist performance at the back of the room. This restaurant was far beyond my social status.

"I, uh—" I started to say.

But he cut me off with a wave of his hand inside, still holding the door open for me.

Reluctantly, I stepped into the fanciest restaurant I had ever graced, already wondering how many paychecks it would take to cover the meal I was about to have.

We were seated instantly, despite my lack of formal attire. We didn't blend with the crowd dining in here, but it was also pretty empty given how early in the evening it was, so they probably took pity on us given the lack of demand at the time.

As we sat down and they handed us our leather-bound menus, my jaw dropped after glancing at the prices. Leaning across the table, I whispered to Ben, "This is pretty expensive. If we run now, I'm sure they won't notice."

"Don't worry about it, Olivia. I'm paying, remember?"

"I can't let you pay this much—"

"Shh," Ben said, holding a finger up to his mouth. "Pick what you want before I pick for you."

A crease worked its way between my brows, but reluctantly I gave in, eyes going back to the page, searching for what I wanted to eat.

"I hear the duck here can be good," he said, closing up his menu as though he had decided, calling the waiter over.

"I don't eat meat," I stammered, starting to panic about the fact he was now waiting on me. After skimming through the options, I decided on the first vegetarian option.

"I'll take the Fillet Mignon, rare, and hold any pepper or garlic dressing that normally comes with it," Ben said when the waiter arrived. "And I'll get a side of the garden vegetables. Olivia?" He was looking at me now.

"Um. Spinach and ricotta ravioli please."

"And drinks?" the waiter asked.

"Just water for me," Ben said, looking over at me.

"Yes. Water is fine."

"You sure?" he asked, almost taken aback.

But I nodded, holding back the comment screaming through my head. No way am I letting you spend more money than necessary.

"Very well, I will get your water for the table first thing," the waiter said, taking our menus off us and leaving us alone.

But with only conversation now to fill the gaps, the pressure of his gaze became too much... So I nervously began to prattle. "No pepper or garlic, hey?"

Ben shook his head. "Allergies."

"And you like your cow still mooing?"

His eyebrows went up amused as he pursed his lips together. "The bloodier the better." The danger that laced his voice as he said that sent chills down my spine, bringing my next comment to a halt. It should have sent me running; but, instead, I found myself leaning a little closer, lost in the depth of his blue once more as the ocean torrent pulled me further and further into him.

But before I could say something stupid or become a blubbering mess under his entrancing gaze, our drinks arrived, allowing me to wrench my stare away from him.

But as I tried to look anywhere and everywhere except at the boy across the table, Ben reached into his jacket that hung over the back of his chair, pulling out a small jar, full of deep red pills, capturing my attention once more.

He plucked one crimson capsule out, stuck it in his mouth, and swallowed it down with the help of water, all the while looking at me.

"Unwell?" I probed.

He smiled with no humour. "It's a supplement. I'm normally home by now when I take them." But he was quick to shake the topic. "So. The fairies?"

"Right." What we were here for... This wasn't some date, Olivia. He's just bribing you for information, the darkness in my head began to crush me. "What did you want to know?"

"Firstly, how you think they could take down a vampire." He was talking in a low voice, as if conscious of listening ears, which was fair. The topic of mythology wouldn't be common between dinner guests that frequent this establishment.

"They have poisonous blood. But it only kills vampires," I said, the deflation still tainting my tone.

He tilted his head to the side, egging me to say more.

I shook my head and took a deep breath, trying to remain as friendly as possible even though all I wanted to do was crumble in front of him for foolishly hoping something more was going on here. "These books suggested these fairies fled to Australia because of the vampires. The vampires were trying to wipe them out because they felt so threatened."

"Why did they feel threatened?"

"They were the only creature strong enough to pose a threat."

"Can't the vampire just choose to not drink from them?"

A sigh escaped me. "I guess I should start at the beginning. The Terra Fairies began as a... mutation," I looked away briefly, wondering if he realised where I took my story's inspiration from, "from normal earth fairies. They could tap into the magic of the earth, but their evolution was a cause of continued deforestation. They had an innate ability to heal creatures and land."

"That sounds good?"

I nodded slowly. "But they also have an ability to channel magic. Because they can tap into the life of living things, they can join their magic with powerful witches, mermaids, and so on, and amplify their power. The vampires felt threatened by this new skill in their mutation... Because they had been the top of the food chain as the predators."

Ben nodded, like what I was saying made sense.

"Some of the fairies got really tired of constantly healing humans whom the vampires had drained dry, and the vampires had been feeding excessively over the years. So the fairies decided they would start teaming up with other magical beings to... put the vampires in their place. But, of course, the vampires didn't like this."

"Let me guess. A war broke out?"

"Yes. And evolution in the mutation line worked its... well, for a lack of a better word, magic. The vampires were trying to kill fairies while feeding on them. They apparently tasted the most delectable. But suddenly the vampires feasting on the younger fairies with this new mutation were going into dropping dead from what seemed to be anaphylaxis after drinking a few drops of fairy blood. Vampires felt even more threatened, and they managed to convince some of the crossbreed vampires with witch and shifter in them to join in 'fighting for the cause'."

"So they tried to commit genocide on the fairies?"

"Yes. And no more feasting."

"Then what happened?"

But our food then arrived, breaking the conversation.

He seemed slightly irked by the interruption, the waiter receiving an undeserved grimace from him. But after the worker walked away, Ben nodded at my plate as if to say, 'eat up'.

Piercing a ravioli with my fork and putting it into my mouth, my eyes closed with content as I chewed. It's creaminess oozing through my mouth. Soft, delicate, buttery, and cheesy goodness.

"Good?" he laughed.

"My gosh. It's delicious."

"I hear the chef here is from Italy."

"I must go to Italy some time then... How's your cow?"

At that moment he placed a bloody chunk of steak in his mouth, chewing slowly. "Delectable."

"Blegh," I pretended to vomit.

"Got something against meat eaters?"

"Nothing against the people. I just... could never bring myself to condone to hurting any animals. I don't know what it is."

"But you're not vegan?"

"No. I suppose that would be ideal, but no."

But the shift in conversation didn't last long. Barely any time passed since my last words until he was already asking, "So what happened with the fairies?"

Placing my hand over my mouth as I chewed my quickly, I finally swallowed and said, "They evolved again."

"What happened now?"

"They basically turned into vampire bug zappers," I laughed.

His eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"Whenever a vampire would touch them, they would send electric shocks to the vampire. It allowed the fairy to either paralyse the vampire while they ran, or... paralyse them for long enough to drop some of their blood into the vampire's mouth."

Ben smirked. "Interesting. So how did they end up in Australia?"

"The vampires tried another strategy of course. Knew to never touch them. Used archery and non-contact weapons. The fairies still died easily."

"And so they fled the continent in the end?"

I nodded. "It's supposed to be a fairy instinct to run when they sense too much danger. Some are able to push past this desire, but... for the safety of their kind, they all decided it was best to flee."

"And why Australia?"

"They had heard of this land from the mermaids supposedly... one constantly covered by intense sun and heat. Of course, the fairies were originally from Ireland, so they were used to the cold. The new environment was a lot to bear with. But they managed. The fairies took off to this land, wiped all record of their existence, and hoped that, with time, they would be forgotten long enough that they could eventually return to their homeland."

He nodded, taking a brief moment to digest my words as he took another bite of his stake. But then he went on. "So the vampires in the fairy books... they can't stand in the sun?"

"Not exactly the sun... But the UV rays. Up in North Queensland, where I'm from, the lowest UV rays we get during the day in the middle of winter are moderate. If the vampires found them, they'd have to live indoors until night, and it's quite difficult to avoid sunlight inside Australia. Houses up in the North don't exactly have basements."

"I see..." he whispered, eyes glossing over like his mind was far from here, fully immersed in whatever thoughts he was having. But once he came back, he said, "I have many more questions."

Rolling my eyes, I popped another ravioli in my mouth, hoping I could eat at some point in this discussion.

And he seemed to notice this, holding off for a moment as I took another few bites.