Someone's passed out inside the piss-smelling comfort room. The woman's young, maybe in her early twenties, and she's on the plumpy side. She stank of puke but it didn't discourage me from the possibility of a real dinner.

I stared at her neck for what seemed like a really long time while my instincts urged me to hurry up and take a bite before somebody else walks in. I locked the door.

When I realized I lost control, it was too late. I've taken quite a lot of blood but the woman's still breathing. A good sign. But the problem is that my bite won't clot so even if I stop, she's still in danger of losing all her precious blood. I licked my bloodied lips and tasted her salty sweat and a thick layer of perfume, which ruined the blood's aftertaste.

I pulled out the woman's phone and used a paper towel so I don't leave any finger print before dialing the emergency hotline to anonymously report an "injured woman" inside the comfort room. Then I washed my face thoroughly. Fuck, I'm going be a murderer and I don't even feel the slightest worry.

Nobody's banging at the door so I opened it and slipped out, wiping my face and mouth with a bunch of paper towels. 

Two other women and a gay guy passed by me and I heard them mention about "her being in the cr for like, forever" and "maybe she's passed out so someone better drive her home".

Good. Take her out of here before losing all of her blood.

I arrived at our table and Champion cocked an eyebrow at me. I smiled, hoping that I gargled all the blood residue off my mouth. But whatever. I feel invincible.

"You good? You look drunk," he asked, wide eyed. "Man, we always drink whiskey in our room but this is the first time that you actually look drunk!"

"Yeah, mixing drinks really isn't advisable," I said, trying to avoid his eyes. My fingers subconsciously reached for my hair and noticed that my hair's dripping with sweat.

"Should I take you home?" he asked but I laughed and picked up another bottle. I checked my watch.

"You're running late. Leave her to me."

"Yeah. Leave me to him," Freebie said and clung to my arm. Thankfully, the fat woman's too drunk that drinking her blood was like drinking blood diluted with alcohol. So it's coursing through my veins right now and I'm hot as hell.

"Don't do anything stupid," Champion reminded his sister. "He has a girlfriend."

"Gosh, Kuya. We can handle this," Freebie laughed as she shooed him away. "He's beginning to sound like an old person."

"He's twenty four, what do you expect?" I said with a chuckle. Freebie agreed and we ended up talking about a lot, about movies mostly.

"Strange movies are way better than romance, in my opinion. I can't take how cheesy romance movies get. Plus, I hate cheese."

"Who hates cheese?! How do you eat pizza?!" 

"Eww, I don't eat pizza."

I like how fun it was to talk to Freebie. Unlike Austin, she really makes conversations funny with her quirky answers and she's curious about so many things so she also asks questions, even stupid ones. And unlike Austin who would only glance at me like I was a loser, Freebie stares at me like how a girl would stare at a boy who's clearly showing interest.

"You're drunk already?" she asked.

I didn't notice myself getting lost in thought while staring at her neck, thinking about how her sweat would taste compared  to the one inside the comfort room.

She reached out to touch my cheek with the back of her hand and she slowly dragged it until it touched my lips. I see she's also a predator. I wonder if Champion's aware of this side of her.

"You're feeling sick? You look kinda pale."

"Nah, it's the aircon. I'm always pale though. Anemia," I answered and tried giving her a smile that I too, have been practicing in the mirror.

I discovered it was effective when moments later we were on the dance floor and I could feel her warm body against mine. She clung to me and we kissed in the middle of the dancing crowd, the dizzying lights flashing and distorting everything in view.

Freebie held my hand and dragged me away from the crowd and I let her guide me because my head's spinning with all the alcohol in my body. She led me outside, in a dark alley where several others were already eating each other's face out. Others stood outside to smoke or just puke their brains out before going back in again. One heavily made up girl smelled so strongly of puke as she squatted by the wall, her buttcrack escaping from her tight jeans. Her friend held her hair up while talking loudly on the phone. They're girls from the university.

I chuckled. This is the downside of eating, the sudden surge of sensory overload. I notice everything, hear every little thing and my mind can keep up no matter how groggy I become.

Freebie giggled and she pressed her back on the cold concrete wall, pulling me into her. I closed my eyes and buried my face on her neck and smelled her hair. She's wearing a sweet-scented cologne but she's sweating so I can smell her real scent. Milder than her brother's and it's tempting me to sniff her more and take a taste test.

My lips found hers waiting, slightly opened mouth inviting my tongue to come in and explore deeper. She moaned softly, her fingers caressing my nape while mine groped her firm, real boobs. For a sixteen year-old girl, she's a wicked kisser.

I've never kissed Austin like this. Should I be guilty?

Moments later, my lips are trailing kisses down her neck, my fangs slowly sticking out and ready to puncture the smooth neck of my best friend's precious only little sister.

"That's enough," an older guy's voice said as I was forcefully plucked away from Freebie. I staggered to regain my balance but he dragged me further until he's standing between a scared Freebie and myself. The guy's huge hand still clutched my shoulder, keeping me from getting away.

I growled. Being interrupted when my fangs are already out could cost him his life but the big guy didn't budge. His huge physique might be blocking my killing intent from registering inside his own survival instinct.

At first I thought he was a bouncer but he's dressed sharply, like he's working a respectable daytime job.

"Who are you?! Don't just butt in on other people's business, you fat hippo!" Freebie said while she's panting hard and her face was so red you'd think she bumped on a plateful of spaghetti.

The big guy gave her a good-person kind of smile and it really suited him, convincing me that he meant no harm.

Come to think of it, I'm the one meaning harm and he just saved Freebie from becoming my dessert.

"Trust me, little lady, you'd thank me for the cock-block," he said, his voice so gentle he could instantly make an angry person turn calm. He turned to leave, dragging me like I was a weak child.

"Get back inside, Freebie. I'll settle this, so don't worry," I turned and flashed her a smile. "Tell Champion I'm sorry. I'll meet him at the dorm."

I jerked my shoulder to get rid of the man's hand and he quickly got the message. I have no idea who he is but he seemed to know the kind of creature I am so I followed without asking questions.

The man's way bigger and larger than Champion it reminded me of Baymax but with vice grips for hands. I used to be cautious around suspicious, especially large and bulky, men like him but I'm different now. He's a normal human being while I'm not. I've also just eaten a fair amount of blood.

And if he's stronger than normal then cool. I'm already dead so I have nothing to lose. If he kills me for my body parts, he'd hit the jackpot because I might grow an infinite supply of kidneys to make him a millionaire.

"What do you need?" I asked, getting impatient. We  walked across town towards the edge of it and he led me into a residential area where I could hear the midnight news from several televisions. One talked about a hospital pioneering in some possible foolproof cure for cancer and another news about a missing man suspected of becoming a victim to extrajudicial killings. Bad news after another.

I've stopped updating myself with current events since I moved out from our house.

"Answer me, shithead."

"Nurgis wanted to see you."

He might have heard my audible gasp because he paused and laughed to himself.

Fucking Nurgis! Why didn't he just go and see me himself? Acting all important like some Mafia boss sending a scary messenger who cocksblock people for a living. But then again, children aren't allowed in that place.

We arrived at an old amusement park that has closed for several years now. I could already smell Nurgis so I jogged to follow the scent and found him sitting on a rusty swing. He would back up and let go, playing by himself and totally nailing his middle schooler act.

"Where the fuck have you been?!" I asked him when he turned his head toward my direction. He even waved so I approached him and proceeded to push his swing as far as I could before letting go. He swung from one end to another, lifting off the ground and falling again, making the rusty swing squeak as if complaining about the sudden force demanded from it. "You stupid ass face!"

"Around," he answered, laughing,  enjoying his kiddie activity. I grasped the chain hard and his swing abruptly stopped, almost throwing him off to the ground.

"You went missing without giving me any hint about where you might've gone," I told him, injecting a hint of anger in my voice. He flinched, carefully meeting my eyes until, maybe, he's sure I'm open to a serious conversation.

I sat on the other swing while my head still swam with all the alcohol in my system.

"Boys' Town sucks, don't you know? I couldn't go out at all," he said, still not getting off on his innocent boy act. He stared at me with worry etched on his face.

"Couldn't you find a way to at least leave me a message? Warn me when you're off somewhere, so I could at least brace myself from the shock of not knowing where to find my food?"

"I told you, didn't I? College is a buffet!"

"But. . . I realized I'm more of an introvert now that I'm alone without my old classmates and friends back home," I whined. The situation was made funnier by the fact that the kid's the one consoling me for my inability to hunt for my own sake.

"Did you starve without me?"

I flushed without meaning to. Of course he'd think I'm just annoyed because I lost my food supply. He thinks I only missed him because of his bags of blood.

"You don't look hungry," he grinned, his eyes reflecting the light from the far electric pole. He stood with eyes closed and sniffed the air like a dog, inching closer to me until his nose was only several millimeters away from my lips. "Oh, how naughty. You've just had your dinner."

"I. . . I lost control. But this is the first time I've done this, you know, biting someone," I said defensively. Food was just lying around so what was a hungry vampire supposed to do?

He laughed quietly while he straightened up, wiping his hands on his cargo pants.

"It's quite normal, right, Totoro?" he snapped his head back to look at the big guy standing nearby. He's really more of a Baymax though. 

"Yes. If you're hungry then you should eat," he answered in a surprisingly calm voice. We're talking about eating people here and he's acting like he understands our sentiments. 

"Tell me more," Nurgis said. "You mentioned tonight as your first time eating out. How'd you get by? You don't seem starved."

"I got lucky. Someone's been giving me blood."

"Wow. You eat straight from the source?" his expression changed into amazement. "Knew you're the real deal? That you're not some cannibalistic vegetarian freak who turns blood into sausages?"

I nodded. Austin's a remarkable guy for not batting an eye even if others might shit their pants at the thought of meeting a vampire in real life. But maybe kids nowadays are more open to extreme ideas, like normalizing not being shocked at the existence of vampires. They might even put V in LGBTQ+.

"Girlfriend?"

"Friend," I corrected him, not bothering to keep myself from sighing at the thought of Austin who's not interested in me as a guy. 

"You're going to introduce me to her?"

"Are you high? Of course not, stupid!" I quickly answered. That earned me a laugh from Nurgis.

"I know you're crafty enough to survive. So how did you two meet?"

"Enough about me," I cut him off and pointed at the other person standing nearby. "Just who is this. . . giant?" I asked and threw invisible daggers at the big guy.

The man smiled, not taking offense at my obvious irritation at his earlier actions. Although he's as calm as the Buddha, he has a pair of cauliflower ears, which means he's a serious fighter.

"He's Totoro. I named him that because he's huge. I can't tell you his real name, Genesis, I am so sorry."

"Hey, I don't care. But what is he? Your bodyguard?"

"No. He's my friend too," Nurgis answered. The light of a passing car reflected on his eyes, illuminating his face for a moment and I found staring at it hypnotizing. "More importantly, I have a confession to make. About why I suddenly disappeared."

"Okay."

Shit. This is scaring me.

"I'm being hunted."

Shit, shit!