Utterly dumbfounded.

I forgot to mention how startled I was when Champion told me that I was a vampire. I wanted to laugh because that's what I do when I'm in a state of panic. My emotions got twisted as I was growing up so there are times that it doesn't match the situation. Talk about troublesome.

Sometimes that guy really does say things that would get you flustered or confused and you'd start asking yourself if he was serious or just tripping. It's amazing how he chose to suspect me of being a vampire than accusing me of being a drug addict. And to be completely honest with myself, I pretty much look the part. I'm gangly and I've lost weight ever since my diet took a drastic turn for the worse.

And it's been circulating in the dorms.

If they only knew how clean and pure I am as a person. I haven't even tried marijuana.

But if I had one thing I'm hopelessly addicted to, it's the enticing smell of all these human beings around me. If I could only taste them all. Thankfully, I'm a laid-back person so I could easily fake the desire to go on a feeding frenzy.

The big question: How did I survive after Nurgis went missing in action?

I leaned back on my seat and glanced at the girl sitting on an armchair next to me. She's focused on fixing her makeup while we're waiting for our professor. Her expensive shoulder bag sits on my lap just so she could sit comfortably and the bag apparently needed a comfortable seat too.

She might look like the type who cares about her outfit more than her grades but don't underestimate her. She's a dangerous opponent. This girl is always on top of the dean's list and she always looks impeccable, as if she's a robot who doesn't have the ability to excrete sweat.

Seriously though. Our classmates call her Hermione Granger because just like what Professor Snape said, she's an insufferable Know-It-All. Who can blame her? She's always the smartest guy in the room. I just don't understand why people shame her for it.

What these people don't know is that she's a "he", and he's not my girlfriend and no, I didn't eat her while she was on her period. And more importantly, nobody knows that he's a cutter. He wears all those cute outfits but he's like a ticking time bomb once you get to know him.

I'm sure you don't get the connection so let me explain what happened.

It was almost a month ago before I discovered his secret.

Let me just get this straight for a moment. I don't think making our instructor cry was intentional. They claimed that he enjoyed making other people suffer but he wasn't the sinister type they were painting him to be. Sure he's snobbish and aloof but as my brother always said, some people who choose to be alone chose the wrong sort of friends before. Maybe he chose to be unapproachable because he's treading the world carefully.

He's just so intelligent and they can't handle it. And because he's indisputably pretty, it made matters worse for him.

What stings is the fact that he wasn't expecting our classmates to turn on him, after he generously let them copy his answers during our first exam.

He only corrected a fact that the instructor got wrong and that instructor chose to be offended instead. Before he could explain himself, the instructor already rounded up a huge group of sympathizers that included his haters which, as anyone might have guessed, were filled with jealous bitches.

They bashed him on social media, they talked shit about him when he's around and accused him of being a slut. As his classmate, who at that time believed that he's an extremely cute girl, I can safely say that calling him a slut was way out of line. I haven't even seen him with a boy before.

There were funny rumors about him too. Like having a really dry witch's hair that's full of split-ends, or being a flat chested who uses fake boobs just to look presentable. Well, that made sense after. Some of our classmates would say that he didn't have the right to act so high and mighty just because he's intelligent and pretty. They even bashed his "manly legs" and called him a midget.

What's not to like about a cute creature like that? I can't relate at all. Back then all I saw was a cute little rabbit. I don't know if I was attracted to "her" or I was just eyeing a potential prey. He was always alone after all.

One time I saw a post on Facebook that said, "she didn't have the right to be blessed with beauty and brains. She's not perfect to correct an instructor who didn't mean to make a slight mistake". 

It was bullshit. Personally, instructors and professors should take extra care with what they teach people because some of us are naturally dumb. We would just nod and take it all in without double checking.

To sum it up, when shit hit the fan, all the jealousy oozed out of their ears, the same people who were in college to become future professionals. It was hilarious. What, "hope of the country"? 

But nobody gave a fuck about how it affected the target they flamed ruthlessly on social media. It was all entertainment for them.

Honestly, I regretted not doing anything for him back then but I was too consumed by hunger and distracted by keeping my urges in check. I didn't have the spare energy to reach out and comfort a bully victim.

We would only pass by each other on the hallway as total strangers. Maybe he hated all his classmates so that included me as well. I can't say I don't deserve it. I never took part to any of it, but I was equally guilty for being a bystander who watched him burn.

*

"What's the deal with Austin Jade Ramirez though? She's in your class right?"

I told Champion those things while we were hanging out on the common room terrace. He was the one who raised the subject, knowing that the person involved was my classmate.

"Why don't you try approaching her though? She might appreciate it," he suggested, all according to my expectation. Always the good guy.

"She'll think I'm a creepy stalker," I answered while fiddling with the string of my hoodie.

"Did you stalk her?"

"Of course not."

"Then why'd you think that?"

"Because I look suspicious and she's like, way out of my league."

Champion laughed so hard he was tearing up.

"Sometimes I wonder what pair of eyes you see yourself with, buddy," he said and then leaned closer to me. I felt his breath on my hair as he sniffed me like an eager dog. I wanted to slink back but he might take it the wrong way.  "You don't smell bad. Don't think too much about it and do what your conscience tells you."

*

Austin and I have two classes together and one ends by 7:30 pm. He's usually the first to leave to avoid our classmates harassing him in any way possible.

It was so fucking fortunate that I needed to piss so bad, which meant that I had to use the comfort room in our floor. Usually I would bear it until I get home but it was urgent. So I took care of my business but just as I was zipping my pants, a familiar smell wafted inside the men's room. I looked around but not one of the stalls was occupied. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.

I followed the smell and it led me to the women's comfort room. The strong smell of blood tickled my nose, threatening a big bout of sneeze attack.

I know how a menstruating woman smells like and I also know the smell of their discharges. I'm also familiar with the intensity of smells according to the kind of wound a person has. This one is full-on dripping. I can even hear the blood as it strikes the floor.

My head went blank as I imagined an open wound overflowing with scrumptious blood.

"Who's in there?" I called out while holding my neck as an act of restraint. There was no answer but I heard a sharp intake of breath.

I struggled to keep my sanity but the overpowering smell of blood sent red mists inside my head.

I fell to my knees while I sniffed around to search for my food. The mouth-watering stink mingled with the smell of expensive perfume. That's when I noticed a pair of familiar designer shoes inside a closed cubicle. I nimbly jumped to my feet and kicked open the door but it was locked.

I growled, my impatience reigning over me as I ripped the door off from it's hinges like tearing a leaf from a notebook.

What awaited me was a gaping Austin holding a cutter in one hand while the other was grasping the empty space where the door was supposed to be. He stared at me and then shifted his round eyes to the door I was holding.

I came back to my senses when I saw a limp dick attached between the legs of the cutest girl I've ever seen in person. I had no idea if my eyes were just playing a trick on me or if I'm hallucinating because of the smell of blood.

"Ugh. Stop staring at my dick, you creep,": was all "she" said in a boy's voice, an odd reminiscent of his usual sweet girl way of speaking.

I did a quick mental check. Did I have a strong crush on Austin that I'm seeing his face on some dude's body? Maybe I was attracted to her but I was just too preoccupied to really acknowledge my feelings?

I blinked. I let go of the door and it clattered noisily on the floor. Austin tried to stand up but he winced and fresh blood gushed out from the open cut on his groin.

Before I realized, I was kneeling in front of him while he wasn't doing anything to defend himself from me. All I felt was his small hand gripping my hair so tight as if he was afraid to fall down from some high place where I was taking him.

His moans were ignored as I sucked and licked every drop of blood that dribbled from his groin. My instinct was telling me to take a bite and suck his blood until all that remains is his dried up corpse. I can't tell whether he tried to kick me or he has already accepted the fate that awaited him. He's so delicious I wanted to wring every bit of life from his beautiful face.

Then there was a shrill scream from behind me followed by heavy footsteps running away before a deafening slap bit my cheek. That pulled my rationality back into place.

I lifted my head to look at Austin, feeling groggy all of a sudden.

"It felt good, all right. But someone just saw us."

So some girl walked in on us.

Great.

That's how the rumors circulated around the campus. That I ate Austin inside the women's comfort room during *her* period. One good thing he got from it was that people thought he was only grumpy because of his period so he snapped at the instructor.

I took him to the hospital and those people who saw us said that maybe I got my junk got stuck inside *her* and I forced it out so there was so much blood.

Maybe I have the worst luck? I seem to attract all kinds of bad rumors.

Well, at least nobody saw his little Austin.