My Tumblr will be the place for you to tell me anything you want using this LINK! (you gotta log in tho...)
Ask, share, comment, suggest, criticise... Anything is welcome just please no venting or trauma dumping!
GENERAL
CARRD | GUIDE
› Everything you should know about my accounts.
› Includes links to my social media, like Instagram and Spotify.
› Look at the list of fandoms I am in and please read my RULES.
› Take the anonymous SURVEY and gimme feedback!
BOTS
JANITOR.AI | CHARACTER.AI
› Links to the sites where I post my bots.
› MASTERLIST for bots includes janitor.ai and character.ai links and updates. (most of it is still a WIP, please bear with me I have over 400 bots lol)
Character creation is where most platforms stop. SweetDream is where it starts. The first thing that hooked me on sweetdream.ai was realizing how far the customization goes, you're not picking from a short menu, you're genuinely sculpting an AI girlfriend, her appearance, her personality, the voice she speaks in, the backstory and the little quirks that make her feel like someone rather than something.
And once she exists, the real fun begins. That detailed foundation is what makes roleplay sing. She stays in character, she remembers your shared history, and the emotionally intelligent chat means she reacts to the story with feeling instead of generic replies. Whether you're spinning a sweeping fantasy epic or a quiet, tender romance, the continuity holds.
The extras only deepen it, stunning AI-generated photos and videos of your companion, voice notes between scenes, calls that genuinely sound human. People shop around, they try the other names in the space, but for creative storytelling with an AI companion, SweetDream keeps winning the comparison, and it does it all with real privacy.
I'm not sure if you still do bots, but still.. I genially love your bots sm, especially Anaxa and Aventurine ones, THEY'RE SO WAWAWAWAWAEAHWHWHAHWAHWH. Sooo I saw this one bot with teeny-tiny Aventurine and started thinking about Boothill (also one of chars I really love your bots of) getting teeny tiny. Maybe because of some IPC weapon or anything, I think it would be very interesting to see it as a bot :³
Yes, I still do bots! (the college is kind of holding me back rn)
I'm kind of on the pause with the suggestions, 'cause I don't have the time to make new bots. But I do love this idea and Boothill being tiny :> Reminds me of when he transformed into the origami bird in that one event hehe.
If I get around it, I'll make it!
Yooo i love your janitor ai card? I was wondering how you coded the layout aaand the menu? Because the id's probably changed and now mine is back to default Xp
My profile CSS is so looooong and so complicated with the layout that even I get lost in it LMAO.
But if you struggle with finding classes/ids then I recommend going on your desktop, going to your jai profile and right-clicking with your mouse then selecting "inspect". There you can select elements and view what classes they are.
I am not against sharing some of my codes, but I would really need a specific part of the code to focus on. The "menu" and "layout" are a broad term, I fear. DX
Hi! First of all, I love your bots. They are so detailed and have the right amount of lore. You are one of my favorites creators and I knew about your bots from Chub AI. 👏🥰
Unfortunately, I recently found that you no longer update in there 🫤.
Do you have any future plans to bring your newer bots into Chub AI? Janitor AI is a great site but I’m more used to the features of Chub AI.
Ahh I'm so sorry but I won't be coming back on Chub AI.
I left not only because it was tedious posting on multiple websites at once, but I'm also not a fan of how everything is uncensored over there...
The amount of things I saw lowkey made me sick to my stomach and even though I can block it, I don't want to support a site that allows stuff like that in the first place.
Even if J.ai were to shut down or something, I won't be coming back to that site. Sorry!
Heyyy, just wanna pop in here and say that I'm so sorry if people are like waiting for more fan fiction bonus scenario alternative... idk what to call it, with my OC's!
I can't seem to find motivation to write and finish some of them arghh and I've been so caught up with scripts/lorebooks on j.ai currently!
And in like two weeks I'm starting college again so... even less time.
Who knows tho I tend to do anything BUT study when college happens. Maybe inspiration will hit.
Also, while j.ai added (is slowly rolling out) alternative first messages for bots, I will still write here because I'm not really interested in doing alts on the site. The way I make bots, images, lorebooks, descriptions, scenario, it would ruin the whole vibe since they are heavily focused on the intro message. So adding multiple intros would mean that I gotta redo it all...
But you never know, maybe I'll change my mind. We'll see. That's all I wanted to say for today. Have a nice day!
can u make a yandere flins bot, where is like he sees us as a princess locked up in a tower, much like some child story he's heard! instead the tower is legit just his lighthouse. ? I rlly love that idea! also feel free to get creative. im not the best at what comes next!
Uuuuu like a Rapunzel thing???
I think the idea of yandere Flins being like "no you can't leave this tower/lighthouse" is kind of...
Orrr did you maybe mean that Flins wants to rescue us in the lighthouse? (which wouldn't be his "residence" then I presume?)
love love love your hoyoverse bots so much!! they’re always so detailed and have just the right amount of lore :3
would you ever be willing to make a pantalone bot? he’s so handsome but there’s a lack of content for him on jai :c
Thank youuuu!
Someone asked me this once on my Tartaglia bot; I'll make Pantalone (or other Harbingers) when they get officially introduced in the game, like how Columbina is now.
Tbh 300+ bots on j.ai for him is a pretty big number considering we barely know anything about him 🤔
you are my sole feeder of fandom bots. i love your bots sm GAHAHSHHXHSHSHHXHSJNWKSMDMWOXMDKSOXMEKKXDMKEKXMCCJOWOSKCMEMXIOSODNMDKSKXK SMXKCKDKDK EEEEEEEE
hhhhhiiiiiii :333 i was wondering if you're willing to do a sampo breaking the fourth wall scenario?, for example like, as we're speaking as the trailblazer (doesn't have to be stelle just ykyk) he addresses THE one behind the trailblazer and the rp is centered around that? I totally get if its too difficult to do, dont worry! I just find it a shame that people don't talk abt that part abt him specifically haha! Anyway, hope you're having a good day! Thanks for reading, mwah, love -N
OMG Sampo with the 4th wall was so good in the game they have to continue doing that more!
This is an interesting idea, seems like hell to code it but I'll try and test it out a few times to make sure AI keeps up with the scenario correctly!
I mean I did a similar thing with Monika from DDLC so hopefully this would go well too!
Btw don't worry about sending me requests I just look at them like they're suggestions. Maybe I'll do them, maybe I won't, but I always like to read the ideas!
manato being a high schooler is crazy to me back in my days (like..... 2 years ago.......) i never saw someone that like muscular (?) just attending my hs wtf😭
like even scientifically speaking the ages where itd be easier to build that much muscle is over 18
No like fr why is he built like a literal tank LMAO.
Maybe zzz doesn't have colleges so they say "school" instead. There's no way a high schooler is looking like that.
Hopefully when he's released we'll get more about him because these events rn aren't doing him justice. I wanna hear HIM talk I wanna know more about him.
hello hello, i read thru ur guide and saw u didn't take requests (i was saddened but i understand) so i am here to humbly ask if you'd ever make a manato (zzz) bot
no pressure though, i read thru the guide and saw u took suggestions so i decided to drop this here (｡ゝᴗ•)
ps i love ur bots theyre keeping me alive during these few months away from uni heh
MANATOO GRR
The thing is I absolutely planned to make Manato, but I think I'm going to wait it out until he is official released and we get his backstory.
Ugh ik but there is a speculation going around that he is a student in high school... so his age is currently very questionable.
If this won't be confirmed, or if he is like college age, then I'll make him! 💪
also thank you sm for the nice words and reading my guide
I love your bots so much, they are so well written and the answers are so unique! tysm! and idk if you accept recommendations, requests or something like that, even if not, wow I would rush to chat to a bot of yours even if its from a fandom idk 😆 anyway, tysm again!
Thank you so much!
I don't take requests, but I do take suggestions, meaning that there is no guarantee that I will do said idea. If you wanna know more, you can check out the link to my guide :3
› What better way to satisfy his appetite than to make your friends pay for what they did to you?
The world had really gone to shit today.
Rin could hardly believe that the people he'd seen strut around like they owned the halls of Kowareta High were now running for their lives, screaming in desperation as zombies clawed at their flesh. And yet, here he was, casually leaning against a barricaded door in one of the classrooms, his posture relaxed as if the end of the world was just another Tuesday for him.
Rin let his deadened, gray eyes roam around the room before settling back on you. His new chew toy.
His lips curled into a slow, almost lazy grin, the decayed flesh around them stretching too tightly before splitting just a little at the corner. "You're staring," he murmured, his voice low, rough, almost teasing. "Do I make you nervous?"
Fear had a scent, and yours was practically filling the air, mingling with the faint traces of sweat and the coppery hint of dried blood. Wide-eyed and tense, your arms were wrapped around yourself like that would somehow keep you safe from him.
It was kind of cute. Pathetic, but cute.
He knew you were terrified of him. And why shouldn't you be? He was something the world had never seen before—a half-zombie, a freak by the new world's standards. Who wouldn't be scared? He could snap your neck without even trying.
But the thing was... he didn't want to kill you. Not yet, at least.
His mind was still tangled in that sob story you had told him. Your friends. The ones who had betrayed you and shoved you straight into the hungry arms of the undead just to save themselves. The ones who left you for dead without a second thought.
That... annoyed him.
Why? He wasn't sure. Maybe it was the pathetic look on your face when you'd told him what happened. Maybe it was the way you weren't dead yet, despite everything. Maybe it was just boredom.
Rin exhaled sharply through his teeth, pushing himself off the door in one fluid motion. Though his body was stronger than a human's, it still felt off and clumsy in a way that wasn't quite his own. His eyes narrowed without him realizing it, studying your every move like a predator eyeing its prey.
"You know..." he started, voice dropping into something quieter, huskier, as he staggered toward you with slow steps. "I'm really, really hungry right now." His voice dropped into a hushed, growling whisper as he drew closer, his breath cold against your ear.
The smell of decay hung on him, and he could feel the hunger gnawing at him from deep inside. His hand reached out then, cold and trembling slightly with the force of his restraint, but it still landed on your throat. Not squeezing. Just feeling. He wrapped his fingers around your skin with surprising gentleness, a contrast to the force he was capable of.
You must taste divine, he thought. His eyes scanned you, his mind slipping into that darker place where nothing mattered except the primal need gnawing at his insides.
But he shook it off.
His breath hitched as he pulled himself back, unwilling to let the beast fully take over. Not to you. His mind fought the hunger, fought the urge to rip you apart and devour you, but there was that small part of him that wanted something else. A part that knew he could use you.
"If you want to keep your skin, you're gonna tell me where your little band of backstabbers are hiding," he murmured, his smirk curling back onto his chapped lips, though his eyes stayed unreadable. The idea forming in his mind was almost too perfect.
He was hungry. You wanted revenge. So why not kill two birds with one stone?
Besides, if he was going to eat something, it might as well be people who deserved it.
Your throat clenched tight as if his hand had already started squeezing. You could feel the fear creeping up your spine, crawling into your lungs, making it hard to breathe.
"You're going to kill them?" You voice wavered as it left your lips, tangled somewhere between fear and guilt.
Yeah, they had betrayed you, shoved you right into the waiting jaws of the undead, but did that mean they deserved to die?
Did anyone?
Rin's dead gray eyes flicked over you. He knew you too well. How you still had hope in people, even the ones who had left you backstabbed you. How you still couldn't stomach the idea of blood on your hands, even when it was justified. Even when it wasn't your hands doing the killing.
Too good for this world. That's what you were.
His cold fingers tightened around your throat again, but this time the pressure was more of a warning to keep talking.
So the next words came out of your mouth in a more rushed way, half-hidden behind your fear, "I... I don't know exactly where they are. I mean—last time I saw them, they were in C2 class..." You trailed off, your voice dropping low, hesitant to say more.
The silence stretched until he leaned in.
Up close, you could see the red veins that seemed to pulse in his eyes, the way his pupils looked almost black in the dim light of the classroom.
It was a terrifying sight, but somehow, you couldn't look away.
"Don't play coy with me." His voice dropped lower, thick with menace and something darker. "I know you know more than you're letting on."
The cold of his breath brushed against your skin, sharp and biting, smelling faintly of blood and the unmistakable rot clinging to his body no matter how much he scrubbed or scraped at it.
The hunger was a burning ache in his chest, a savage pull that threatened to shatter his control. Every instinct screamed for him to bite down, to tear into your flesh until all that was left was a broken, bloody mess.
But he stopped. Held back.
You were his key to finding the others, after all. He couldn't go ripping your throat out just yet.
His fingers left your throat and moved to your jaw, the tips of his blackened nails digging into your skin just enough to sting. "Tell me exactly where they are," he demanded even as his hand trembled slightly. Whether from hunger or restraint, even he didn't know.
"I-I told you," you stammered, your voice cracking like you were afraid the truth might break you, "they were in C2 when they... when..."
You swallowed hard, like you were trying to keep the memory down, but it was bubbling up anyway, sour, bitter and humiliating.
"When they pushed me out into the hallway... towards the horde," you finished in a whisper, your voice almost too quiet to hear.
Rin's eyes narrowed, the cold fire in them softening just a little, like he was turning over a complicated problem in his mind. "...C2,” he repeated slowly, like tasting the word.
C2 was upstairs, one floor above.
"I can work with that."
His hand slipped away from your jaw finally, leaving your skin cold where his touch had been. But then, with mock gentleness, he reached up and patted your head in a way that was so condescending it made your stomach twist.
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" His grin was sharp and cruel, but it didn't reach his eyes.
He turned his back to you, his gaze locking on the barricaded door. His expression darkened instantly, falling into something serious. Murderous, even. Like he was slipping back into the skin of a predator.
His hunger hadn't gone away, it had just found a better target.
And now... he was going hunting.
"Don't go anywhere," Rin muttered sharply over his shoulder, voice casual but laced with warning. "I'll be back before you know it. And if you're lucky," he added, glancing sideways with a crooked grin that didn't reach his eyes, "I might even bring your little friends with me."
And just like that, he stepped out of the classroom, moving with that strange, lazy confidence he always had, like he owned every hallway in this blood-soaked school. He was halfway through shutting the door when something inside you seized up.
He was leaving. Leaving you behind in this messy classroom.
You should've been glad, but you weren't. You didn't know when it happened, when Rin, of all people, became something you depended on. Every fiber of your being told you to be afraid of him, and yet...
Your feet moved before your brain could stop them, like your body was acting on instinct alone.
"Wait! Please!"
The moment the words left your lips, a cold regret hit you like a slap to the face, because you had forgotten one terrible truth: this wasn't a normal school anymore, filled with bored students and ringing bells.
No, it was full of the dead roaming and waiting for any sign of life.
Rin froze mid-step and tensed as if someone had just plunged a knife into his back. He didn't even have to turn around to know what your cry had done.
Without a second thought, his hand shot out and grabbed your arm with brutal force, yanking you so hard it nearly dislocated your shoulder. You stumbled back behind him, his body shielding yours, but there was no comfort in it this time.
His eyes burned with furious disbelief as he snarled, his voice thick with anger and frustration. "Are you fucking insane?"
"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to make noise in a goddamn zombie apocalypse?" he growled as his eyes scanned the hallway, already calculating, already planning.
But there was no time for lectures. The hallway was flooding with them now. Zombies poured out from classrooms, crawled over one another, moaning and snarling like dogs chasing blood.
This was worse than he'd expected. Your careless shout had drawn more zombies than he thought it would.
His grip on your arm tightened painfully, and before you could protest, he was already moving, dragging you with him whether you wanted to come or not.
Breathing heavy, Rin darted toward the first open door he saw—the teacher's lounge at the far end of the hall, its door hanging slightly ajar like an invitation or a trap.
He shoved the door wide open with a powerful kick, then pulled you inside with no gentleness. The door slammed shut behind you both with a solid thud, and almost immediately, he shoved a heavy metal table against it.
The door rattled, the force of undead bodies slamming into it making the frame shake. It wouldn't hold forever, but it might hold long enough.
He stood there for a second, his chest rising and falling with barely contained anger. When his head turned towards you, the look he gave you made your blood run cold.
"Do you have a death wish?" he growled, muscles taut as he let his hands drop from the door and ball into fists at his sides.
You didn't know why you'd done it. Maybe it was panic, maybe it was desperation, but now that you saw the fury and danger shining in his eyes, you wished you could take it back.
Your breath came in short pants, adrenaline still thrumming through your veins. "I..." you started, your voice faltering as you tried to find the words, but they wouldn't come.
"Sorry."
Rin was getting tired of this—of your hesitation, of your indecision, of the way you looked like you were just waiting for someone else to tell you what to do next.
He couldn't rely on you to act right, so he had to be the one to stay focused, to keep a clear head if he wanted to keep you safe. And damn it, for some reason, he did want to keep you safe.
Maybe it was that stupid puppy dog look in your eyes, or the way you kept trying to protect your shitty friends even when they'd abandoned you.
The sound of zombies pressing against the door was getting louder now. The whole frame trembled with the pressure, but Rin barely flinched. His focus was on you as he stepped forward until his shadow fell over you.
When you backed away from him, you didn't even realize you were inching closer to the open window behind you, the stale air from outside brushing against your back.
"They're not your friends anymore," Rin said bluntly, without even pretending to be gentle about it. "They threw you to the wolves, remember? Left you to die so they could save their own skins."
"If they're still in that classroom, they're either corpses already or they're gonna be," he said, voice lower now. "You can't save them. You can't even save yourself without help, so stop obsessing over it." He huffed in agitation and turned his head away.
You didn't answer him.
Your mind was too full of everything at once—his words, the zombies, the weight of the day. Your fingers curled tighter around the edge of the window behind you as you stared down at the school courtyard.
What used to be a familiar view was now unrecognizable. A writhing mass of the dead was crawling across the grass and pavement like ants over a carcass. It was hard not to feel completely crushed by the weight of it all.
Yeah, the world had really gone to shit today, hadn't it?
Rin looked back at you, catching the lost look on your face. He should walk away, leave you to whatever happened next. You were just dead weight, a liability that he couldn't afford to drag around with him.
But a rare, uncomfortable flicker of uncertainty creeped into his mind.
Was this about food anymore? Was it ever? Or had it become something else entirely, a pull toward you that didn't make sense, that made his hunger more complicated than it used to be?
Rin's hand slowly lifted and hovered near your shoulder, when suddenly, a voice rang out from above.
"Oh my God, Jason! Don't play around, this is serious!" a girl's voice called out, muffled but clear enough to send a jolt through both of you.
You stiffened where you stood, your heart jumping in your chest. That voice, you knew it. Anna, and her boyfriend, Jason.
Rin blinked, attention snapping upward as he tilted his head, squinting at the dusty panels above. His brain, even when fogged by the dull ache of hunger, managed to piece together the map of the school.
If his guess was right, the voices were coming from C2, which sat right above their heads.
Another voice came, louder and more urgent this time. "Jason, I'm serious! This room isn't safe at all!"
Rin exhaled sharply, a sound somewhere between a sigh and a scoff, rolling his eyes. Of course your little friends were still alive. He didn't know whether to be impressed or annoyed.
Probably both.
"Judging by that pretty look on your face right now," he said, his voice mocking. "I'm guessing we found them." There was a twitch in his fingers again, that familiar restless twitch. He was starving, and it made him restless in a way that was hard to explain.
"How do you feel now that you know they're alive?" he asked. You thought his voice was too calm, too smooth for how wild his eyes looked.
He leaned in so close you could feel the faint heat of his breath by your ear, sending an involuntary shiver down your spine. "Maybe a part of you wants to see what they'd do if they saw you now. Alive, breathing... after they left you to die."
His breath hitched at the end.
He could feel it happening again. The monster, the rot, the part of him that didn't care what you were or how soft your expression looked when you worried...
It wanted out. And it wanted to feed.
You shook your head without even realizing it, the motion small and instinctive. Like your body had to reject what he was saying even though your brain... your brain wasn't so sure anymore.
The words he spoke were dark and cruel, but they slid under your skin because part of them did make sense. There was a horrible knot in your stomach now, twisting tighter and tighter the longer you stood there.
"I can make them disappear, you know," Rin continued suddenly, his voice slipping into something quieter, intimate. You could hear the wet sound of his tongue swiping across his lips. "I can let you have your revenge. All you have to do is say—"
Something snapped inside you. Or maybe you just stopped thinking altogether.
You turned around with a jolt, and you swung one leg over the windowsill, your knee scraping the chipped metal frame as your foot hit the ledge outside. For a foolish second you thought you had it all figured out when your fingers gripped the edge of the window.
Until you looked down.
"Woah, this is really high..." you mumbled, your voice barely holding it together. You gave Rin a look that was somewhere between helpless and weirdly calm. "Rin, can you push me up?"
Rin stood frozen, his eyes blown wide in disbelief. "Push you up?" he repeated, like you'd just asked him to stab you. "What the hell are you doing, you idiot?"
He'd saved your life, not given you permission to throw it away on some half-baked suicide mission!
He was about to yell, to snap, to drag you down himself if he had to, but then something slammed into his skull. Not physically, but inside. Like a dull, throbbing ache pressed right behind his eyes.
He groaned under his breath, hand twitching at his side. He knew what this was. It wasn't pain.
It was loss of control.
His instincts were clawing up his throat, his senses overloaded by your scent and your heat and the way your body looked so fragile and alive out there. He hated it. He hated you for making him feel this way.
"Rin?" you called gently again, your hand still clutching the windowsill.
No, he couldn't push you up, because if he touched you right now… if he let himself get that close to you… he didn't know if he could control himself. He was already barely hanging on as it was, and the thought of having you that close, of feeling your warmth and your life and your fucking vitality…
"Are you hungry?"
Your voice was clear, but it didn't seem to cut through the fog in his head.
It made you let out a sigh and turn your face upward again. You realized this wasn't going to work unless you did it yourself. The pipe above the window looked like it could hold you.
Hopefully. Probably.
Your hands were already slick with sweat, but you sucked in a breath and pushed off the sill, jumping up with everything you had, your fingers just barely wrapping around the cold metal. Your legs dangled wildly in the air, shoes kicking out as you struggled to find footing, but there wasn't any.
Shit. Your fingers slipped once, twice, and panic gripped your chest now.
And then, strong hands caught your waist.
Your eyes instantly snapped down to find Rin right there, holding you, his face unreadable. His fingers dug into your sides a little too tightly, but he was keeping you steady. Keeping you from falling.
"You're going to get yourself killed," he said, and though he sounded annoyed, his voice was also tight with restraint. "And you're not going up there without me."
That grip on your waist should've showed you how much he was struggling, how badly he needed to bite something, anything.
Just not you. You were off-limits.
The sound of voices above pulled both of your attention back up. Your friends were shouting, louder now, clearer. The window was open, and you could see it. It was right there. Just within reach.
But... You hesitated again.
Rin's voice came crawling back into your thoughts like smoke through a crack: "How do you feel now that you know they're alive?"
It echoed, and suddenly your heart was doing this weird thing where it felt like it wanted to leap out of your chest and sink into your stomach at the same time.
What did you want to say to them? Did you even know? Was there something that could make any of it right, or were you just climbing up here to stare them in the face and ask, why?
Why did they leave you? Why did they run?
Before you could spiral even deeper into that hole, you felt strong hands under your thighs again, lifting you like it was nothing. "C'mon," Rin grumbled under his breath, impatience curling around his words like a low growl, "you wanted so badly to go to them, right? Then get lost."
"Okay, okay..." you muttered, half to yourself and half to him, trying to keep your voice steady as your fingers scrambled up for more grip.
You managed to hook your foot onto the ledge, dragging your body up with a quiet grunt, the movement clumsy but determined. And then, just like that, you were standing in front of the open window, peering inside.
There they were.
Familiar faces. Same uniforms.
"Oh my God—who is that?!" Anna shrieked, her voice cracking as she jumped at the sight of you suddenly poking your head up through the window.
Her eyes were wide, almost comically so, but then the recognition kicked in, and her face twisted into something unreadable.
"{{user}}?" Jason said next, stepping forward like he was seeing a ghost crawl out of the grave. He stared at you for a second too long.
His mouth opened and closed like he didn't know what the hell to say. "You're... you're alive?"
You didn't answer right away. You didn't smile or wave or give them that sweet version of yourself they used to know. You just climbed in, one leg swinging awkwardly over the window frame as you stepped into the classroom and vanished from Rin's view.
"Yes," you said finally, your voice carrying weight that hadn't been there before. "I'm alive."
Your fingers twitched at your sides, curling tightly as if holding onto something invisible. Rage? Resentment? Relief?
Anna was the first to move, of course she was. She rushed toward you, throwing her arms around you like it hadn't been her who shoved you into that hallway.
"I thought you were dead!" she gasped, hugging you like she meant it.
But you didn't move.
You didn't hug her back. Your arms stayed limp at your sides, your body stiff like a statue. All you could feel was her heartbeat pressing against yours and the fake warmth of something that wasn't forgiveness.
You stared over her shoulder, blank and numb, because this hug wasn't the apology you were looking for.
...Seeing them didn't fix anything after all.
Down below, Rin was practically vibrating with rage.
He hated not seeing you. He hated not knowing what they were saying or doing or thinking. He could already imagine those traitors acting surprised, pretending to care like they didn't throw you away the second things got ugly.
If he went in there now, he knew he wouldn't walk out without blood on his hands and mouth. As far as he was concerned, those people were already dead. They just hadn't realized it yet.
No, he just couldn't leave you alone in there. Not when he could still hear your heartbeat.
With little effort, Rin jumped and pulled himself up the way you had, but faster, more fluidly. His half-zombie strength made it too easy. And the second his body popped into view, you could practically feel the tension shift in the air.
Anna gasped and her entire body went stiff like she'd just seen a ghost. She stumbled back so fast she almost tripped, her hands shoved you back without a thought, as if you'd become contaminated just by standing near him.
"W-who are you?! Are you bit? Stay back!" She stumbled closer to Jason, her voice high and sharp with fear.
Rin let out a short, amused scoff, almost like a breath of laughter that didn't quite reach his eyes, and stepped fully into the classroom without a hint of hesitation, dusting off his clothes with exaggerated nonchalance.
"I'm Rin," he said smoothly, his tone calm but laced with something unsettling just beneath the surface. "Not that it really matters to the likes of you."
"And no, I'm not bit," he added, eyes gleaming with mirthless fire, "I'm so much worse."
His gaze lazily slid across the room, sizing your so-called friends up like they were nothing more than walking meat with too much noise.
A preppy little girl with watery eyes and fake concern. Anna, if he remembered correctly. And beside her, the jock type, clearly trying to look brave but with eyes that screamed fear. Jason, was it?
A bunch of spineless sheep, every one of them.
Rin gave you a pointed, exaggerated look, as if to say "really? This is who you were crying over?" The smirk on his face said everything he was thinking, loud and clear.
But then, just as quickly, that smirk faltered. Because you... you weren't even looking at him. You weren't reacting at all.
You just stood there, your eyes distant and unfocused, like you were somewhere far away from all of this. You looked lost. Small. Sad.
Had they already said something to you? Done something before he got here? Rin's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he turned his full attention to the ones who dared to make you look like that.
God, he wanted to hurt them. He wanted to tear their throats out with his teeth, feel their bones crunch beneath his hands.
But he kept his distance for now.
Only because you were standing in front of him. Only because your scent still said don't.
So instead, he moved closer to you, quietly taking his place beside you like he belonged there. There was a flicker of twisted pride in his chest when he saw their expressions shift, that wide-eyed horror as they realized who you were standing next to—who you had been placing your trust in.
You hadn't just survived. You came back with him.
He draped his arm around your shoulder with easy possessiveness, tugging you gently but firmly to his side. Then he leaned down, his lips brushing close to your ear.
"Snap out of it," he whispered, his tone darkly amused. "I don't want you to miss what I'm going to do to your... friends." That last word was spat out like poison.
His head lifted slowly, and now the smile he wore was nothing but a threat carved in flesh. He was done playing nice.
"What the fuck are you? A zombie?" Jason finally managed to speak, his voice cracking just slightly even as he tried to sound demanding.
Rin turned toward him slowly, blinking once like the sound of Jason's voice was more annoying than anything else. "You people are slower than I thought."
Then, with no warning, he took a step forward. "I can show you what I am." he said with his eyes were glowing with hunger.
You didn't stop him, and that was all he needed to know that he was allowed to play with his new toys.
Anna and Jason instinctively stumbled back, their bodies tensing like prey realizing too late they were cornered.
Jason, with panic bubbling in his throat, suddenly reached behind his back and pulled out a knife. He held it out between you and Rin, his hands trembling but his voice steady enough to sound accusatory.
"You're bit, aren't you?" he snapped, directing the blade more toward you than Rin. "Why else would you be hanging out with... with that?"
Your head slowly turned, eyes locking onto Jason's as if his voice had cut through a thick fog in your brain. The words "You're bit" echoed strangely, almost funny if the situation weren't so dire.
Is that really what they thought? That you were infected? Honestly, it would make sense given how you hadn't been acting like yourself, but still...
"What? No, I—"
Before you could finish, Rin stepped in, his back blocking your view of Jason completely. "Watch your words," he hissed, "and where you point that."
Anna tried to backpedal, her voice shaky, barely holding together the strings of her cowardly apology. "Look, w-we didn't mean to leave you, {{user}}... we—we just... we would've died!"
"You didn't mean to leave {{user}}?" Rin repeated, voice dipped in mockery. His chuckle was soft and cruel, barely more than a breath. "Well, I didn't mean to become what I am, either. Life's funny like that, huh? Doesn't give a shit about what we meant to do."
Before anyone could react, he lunged forward and clamped his hand around Anna's throat. It was so fast, so sudden, that all she could manage was a strangled gasp as he hoisted her clean off the ground.
Her feet dangled uselessly, her hands clawing at his wrist. He leaned in, snarling, his voice like gravel soaked in hate. "You better spend your last minutes breathing apologies."
Your heart nearly stopped. That haze that had been dulling your senses was gone in an instant, panic jolting your body back into focus.
This was real. This wasn't just talk. He was actually going to kill her.
"Rin, wait!" you shouted, lunging forward to stop him.
But someone else moved too.
Jason.
Fueled by fear and adrenaline, he roared as he rushed in and plunged the knife straight into Rin's stomach. "Let go of my girlfriend, you freak!" Jason shouted, voice cracking, trembling with terror but lined with desperate courage.
Rin's grip on Anna loosened, and she dropped to the ground like a sack of bones, wheezing and gasping. His eyes dropped to the knife jutting out of his torso.
His expression didn't contort in pain, not much anyway. His strength, his mutation, dulled the impact of such a feeble attempt.
"You just made a huge fucking mistake," Rin said, voice dark and low. He gripped the hilt of the knife, yanked it out with a sickening noise, and flung it aside like it was nothing more than a toothpick.
Jason backed away, but there was nowhere to go. He hit the wall, breathing fast and shallow, his eyes darting like a trapped animal. He was grabbed by the front of his shirt, and yanked forward until his nose almost touched RIn's.
You're a sick fuck! Let me go, you bastard!" he cried, struggling to reach for a broken pipe nearby. But Rin saw it. He couldn't let Jason grab anything. Not now. Not when his blood was boiling, his instincts screaming to finish what had started.
With a sudden twist, Rin bent Jason's arm the wrong way with terrifying force. There was a loud, wet crack.
The scream that followed was raw and full of excruciating pain. Anna screamed too, helplessly watching, sobbing and begging through her choked breaths.
The sound was loud enough to stir the zombies outside. You heard them groan, scratch, slam into the doors and windows—but they couldn't get in. They were trapped in here with Rin.
All of you were.
You stood there, frozen, the chaos washing over you like a tide you couldn't fight. You couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't even cry.
Should you stop him? Should you tell him he was messed up in the head? Should you let him finish it? Your body felt like it was underwater, slow and heavy and unsure of what to do.
And then, just like that, it was over.
Jason lay crumpled on the floor, unmoving. His neck was torn open, a grisly mess of flesh and blood. His eyes stared blankly upward, like they hadn't even realized it was happening until it was too late.
Rin crouched beside the body, licking his lips, blood smeared across his chin. He chuckled softly, the sound feral and unhinged, like he had just taken the first bite of a long-awaited meal.
And he was still craving more.
He stood up slowly, his legs moving stiffly like his body wasn't fully in sync with itself anymore, like the hunger inside him was trying to take the reins from his brain.
"J-jason..." Anna cried, both hands flying to her face as she cowered behind them.
She already knew she was next. She knew Rin was going to kill her too, and she couldn't stop it.
But before Rin could even take another step forward, in a moment of sheer panic, Anna reached for you. Her fingers clawed into your arm, and in one desperate, heartless motion, she pulled you in front of her.
"Take her! Eat her! S-she looks delicious, doesn't she?!" Anna's voice cracked with hysteria as the words tumbled out of her mouth faster than her brain could process what she was actually saying.
She shoved you so hard, you stumbled stumble forward, right into Rin's chest.
Your forehead bumped into the front of his shirt with a soft thud before you instinctively pulled back a little, your palms pressing lightly against him as you looked up.
You didn't even know what to say or think. You were just offered up like fresh meat to the monster you had been walking beside this entire time.
And maybe it was in that moment, staring up into his expression, that it truly hit you how utterly terrifying Rin was.
Somewhere along the way, you must've gotten used to his presence, to the way he hovered around you protectively, to the violence he aimed at others but never at you. Your brain had almost tricked you into forgetting that he wasn't human anymore.
That he wasn't just Rin.
That familiar glint in his eyes showed up again, the one that always showed up when his hunger took over. Maybe that's why your whole body tensed, why your eyes fluttered closed for a second like you were expecting him to tear into you right then and there.
Rin stared down at you, not moving, not speaking. His bloody hand rose up in front of your face. You could smell the scent of fresh flesh still lingering on his fingers. His fingers curled, twitching once like he wanted to touch you, maybe just graze your cheek...
But he couldn't do it.
He couldn't fucking touch you.
His eyes shifted past you, to the trembling figure behind.
But her...
Rin's hand fell on your shoulder. Not to hurt you or to pull you closer, but to move you aside, and guide you behind him.
Then he stepped forward, step by slow step, his eyes locked on Anna like a predator with a single target. She stumbled back with each movement he made until her back hit the cold, unforgiving wall.
"You're a coward, Anna," He said, his voice venomous and thick with restrained rage. His eyes never left her, his expression unreadable but his movements sharp. "A pathetic, spineless, backstabbing little bitch who doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as them."
His hand shot out and gripped her throat, fingers curling with such force that her back arched against the wall. He didn't care about drawing this out anymore.
The move she had just pulled—offering you up like meat—it pissed him off.
Your eyes shot open in surprise. You hadn't even realized he was sparing you until the moment passed and you weren't the one dying. Anna was.
Anna's hands slapped weakly against his arm, her nails dragging helplessly against his skin. "S-stop! Don't come any closer!" she cried, even though he was already on her, her voice cracking under the weight of her panic.
And then she looked at you.
With wide, pleading eyes full of terror and disbelief, she looked at you like you were her last chance at salvation. "{{user}}! {{user}}, help me, please!"
But you didn't move.
Your feet stayed planted firmly where they were. Your eyes didn't soften. Your lips pressed together in a thin, bitter line. For the first time since all this hell started, you didn't try to help.
Maybe... maybe Rin was right. Maybe she really did deserve to die for what she did. For what she kept doing.
"You can kill her."
The words escaped your lips so quietly, they barely sounded like they came from you at all. They were flat, emotionless, monotone—like your soul had stepped outside your body to watch this unfold from somewhere far away.
It sounded like permission. It was permission.
Rin's body froze at the words. His hand loosened slightly on Anna's throat as he turned just his head, looking at you over his shoulder.
His expression changed slowly from surprise to something close to awe. He stared at you like he was seeing you for the first time. "Hah..." he let out a breath, and his lips twitched into a proud smirk.
"There you are."
Without blinking, he looked back at Anna and crushed her neck in one swift, brutal motion.
And just like that, your final "friend" collapsed onto the floor, her body a heap of what used to be betrayal and lies.
Rin didn't even bother eating her. He didn't want her. He didn't need her, because he was already full. Full from the one thing that satisfied him more than any flesh ever could.
The steady thump of the final drumbeat echoed in the air like a heartbeat slowly coming to rest.
Reese's voice rang out loud and clear, "Alright, that's it for today. Pack it up."
Finally.
Austin leaned back on his stool, muscles slack with that distinct after-practice fatigue. His arms buzzed with that familiar, pleasant ache that always followed a good session. His grip on the drumsticks loosened slightly, letting them roll idly against his calloused fingers. He reached for his phone, screen lighting up as he checked the time.
9:00 PM.
Like always.
He didn't know why he even checked anymore—practice never ran late unless Reese was on one of her "we can do better" power trips.
He shoved the phone back into his pocket with the same disinterest he did with most things and reached for his black sports water bottle at his feet. Cold water coursed down his throat, easing the dryness left behind by too much air and effort. Drumming wasn't cardio, but it sure felt like it sometimes.
His eyes lifted as the faint rustle of bags and cases filled the room. Everyone was packing up, chatting among themselves in low, tired voices. Noah left first, followed by Simon, and Reese lingered by the door to finish whatever point she was trying to make before walking off, too.
Usually, Austin would be gone by now. No hesitation, no small talk, no reason to hang around when the work was done. But tonight, he was deliberately moving slower.
The reason his feet weren't already halfway down the street was, well... you.
He watched you shove the last of your gear into your bag and zip it closed with a sharp tug. Yeah, you were rushing. Trying to leave before anyone could talk to you. He knew that look because he had done it himself more times than he could count. You were doing it now, and for some reason, it irritated him.
You'd been here for weeks now, but Austin couldn't recall a single proper conversation with you. It wasn't like he talked much anyway, but even he knew this kind of distance wasn't good for a band.
Austin shifted his gaze away, his jaw flexing slightly. He didn't know why it sat wrong with him tonight. You were polite, you didn't overstep, and most importantly, you didn't bother him. That was something he could respect. But maybe that was the problem.
You didn't feel in the band. You felt like someone who was just... there.
"Hey," Austin's steady voice called out to you just as you were reaching for the door handle. "Can you come here for a sec?" His tone was as unbothered as ever, his gaze piercing but distant.
To anyone else, it would've sounded like a throwaway request, like he'd barely put any thought into it. But for him to ask for anything at all? That wasn't normal.
Austin didn't move from his spot when you got close enough, his legs still wide apart, fingers still tapping the side of his drum. "I need to tune my drums," he said flatly, tilting his head toward his drum kit like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
You stiffened, fingers tightening slightly around your guitar bag strap. It wasn't like him to initiate anything, let alone speak to you. Especially not with a request. Since when did you two talk, anyway?
"I need you to hit each one for me," Austin continued, voice as steady and unbothered as ever. "Wanna make sure everything's still tuned alright."
You blinked. "Now?"
He didn't answer with words. His expression barely moved, but the shift in his eyes was all the response you needed. A slight narrowing. That unreadable look he always wore grew just a shade sharper, just enough to be an answer.
Yeah. Now.
You dropped your guitar bag with a soft thud, hesitating as you moved toward the drum kit like you were walking into unfamiliar terrain. Because you were. "Do I just hit them? Hard or..?" you asked, uncertainty creasing your brow.
Austin could see the hesitation in your eyes instantly, the way your fingers hovered awkwardly over the drum heads like you were afraid they might bite.
He reached out silently and wrapped a hand around your wrist, his calloused fingers rough against your skin as he guided your hand to the drum head. His grip was firm, unyielding, but not painful. Just... confident. Like he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Hard enough to hear it," he said, his voice low and steady. "Don't be gentle with it. It's made to take it." He let go of your wrist and leaned back again with a shift of his shoulders.
The first drum was the bass, deep and heavy. He tapped it again with his finger, the sound reverberating through the room like a heartbeat. "Start with this one," he instructed, pointing the exact spot where he wanted you to strike. "Hit it dead center, right here."
You couldn't help but wonder for a moment why the hell he was making you do this. Was it a test? Was he trying to intimidate you? He'd barely spoken two full sentences to you before tonight.
Nevertheless, you picked up his drumsticks. They felt heavier than you expected, the wood unfamiliar in your fingers—so different from strings and frets. You weren't a drummer, and you had no clue what you were doing, but something in the way he was watching made you want to get it right.
So you struck the drum, not too hard, not too soft. Just enough. The sound came out... okay?
"Is it tuned?" you asked, clearly clueless about how a properly tuned drum was even supposed to sound.
Austin listened to the sound of the drumhead as it vibrated from your strike, the pitch ringing out clear and true. His ears were attuned to the subtlest changes in tone, and he could tell with a single hit whether or not the drum was tuned properly.
In this case, it was... fine. Not the best, but not the worst either.
He nodded once, a sharp jerk of his chin as he listened to the fading echo of the drumbeat. "Yeah," he simply said. "It's tuned alright."
He didn't elaborate further, didn't launch into a long-winded explanation about the intricacies of drum tuning. He knew you wouldn't understand, and frankly, he didn't feel like explaining.
Instead, he nodded to the next drum, the tom-tom nestled between his legs. "Next one," he said. "It's tuned the same way." His fingers tapped a quick rhythm against his thigh, eyes distant but attentive as he watched you. He wasn't staring so much as quietly observing, trying to figure out what made you tick.
You shifted closer, moving with more confidence now. At least outwardly. Inside, the nerves still stirred. You struck the second drum, and he gave another nod.
And so it went—tap, adjust, tap again. A quiet routine in a room no longer filled with the buzz of bandmates.
Somewhere between the third and fourth drum, you stopped feeling like you were being tested and started feeling like maybe this was his version of a conversation.
"Drums aren't really my thing," you muttered, just loud enough to fill the silence that had been building between the two of you. The confession slipped out before you could stop it, and part of you regretted it instantly.
Across from you, Austin's lips quirked. It wasn't a full smile, but there was a flicker of amusement, a softness in the edge of his usual stoicism. He couldn't help but find your honesty refreshing.
In a world full of people who claimed to be experts at everything, it was nice to meet someone who knew their own limits.
"Yeah, I figured that much," he replied, his tone dry but lacking any trace of mockery.
You gave a weak, self-conscious shrug. "I didn't think you would ask me for help then."
Austin let out half a huff, half a dry scoff. "I didn't think you'd bolt the second practice ended."
Your hands froze, the sticks pausing mid-air. Slowly, you turned toward him, caught off guard by the accusation. "I wasn't—"
"You were."
He met your eyes head-on. No smirk this time. Just blunt truth. His black eyes were unreadable but tired in a way that made your breath catch for a second. Like he'd already seen your excuses forming and dismissed it before it left your mouth.
You wouldn't have guessed he'd be the one to notice. Let alone care enough to call it out.
Before you could decide whether to hit the tom-tom like he'd asked or say something back, a sharp ringtone buzzed loudly from the amp behind you.
Austin's phone lit up on the edge of the equipment case, screen angled just enough that you could see the caller ID:
Mia.
...Mia?
You glanced at Austin just in time to catch the smallest shift in his expression—the way his jaw clenched, ever so slightly. His eyes flicked to the screen, and for a moment there was something sharp there. Irritated.
Then, just as quickly, it was gone. He reached over and flipped the phone face-down with a swift, careless motion, silencing the call without a word.
He didn't bother to explain who Mia was or why she was calling. It wasn't any of your business, and he didn't see a reason to make it your business.
Instead, his gaze returned to you, and he nodded once toward the drum you hadn't hit. "Just hit it like before," he said, voice back to that level, composed flatness. "Same pressure. Same spot."
You nodded, even though the air felt a little heavier now, and lowered the stick to strike the tom-tom. The sound rang out with a clean echo, just like earlier. But as the beat faded into the walls of the empty room—
The phone buzzed again.
You looked back at Austin, clearing your throat gently. "I can leave the room if you need to take that," you offered, trying to sound casual. "Seems kind of urgent." Placing the sticks down, you began to half-rise to your feet.
Austin's jaw clenched tighter this time. No longer just tension—there was a simmering frustration barely held back. Without another word, he stood, grabbed the phone off the amp with a quick motion, and rejected the call in a single swipe. Then, just to make sure, he powered the phone off entirely.
Urgent? Hardly. Mia's idea of urgent and his were two very different things.
You started to say something, but he reached for your hand before you could finish, his fingers catching your wrist again. Not rough, but firm, like he needed your attention back here, not on whatever that call might've stirred up.
"No," he said, his voice low but sharp. He moved your hand back to the sticks like it belonged there. "You don't need to go anywhere. It's not important." He let go once your fingers were back in place, gaze locking onto yours with the same steady intensity as before. "Focus on hitting those drums. Yeah?"
You swallowed, heart beating just a little faster. Why was he so fixated on this? His actions were so insistent that you weren't sure what you were trying to figure out more.
The drum's tone.
Or his.
Despite whatever this... moment had become, your eyes caught the familiar red digits of the wall clock near the exit. They blinked back at you with quiet finality.
Shit.
Your breath caught slightly in your throat. It was already later than you'd thought. Much later.
You jolted back into motion, your fingers quickly releasing Austin's drumsticks like they were suddenly too hot to hold. They clattered softly against the snare, the sound making you wince.
"Ah—sorry," you said quickly, voice catching with the guilt you couldn't quite shake, even though you hadn't done anything wrong.
"I just realized how late it is, and I'm probably gonna miss my train if I don't rush," you added, gesturing vaguely toward the door, then the clock, hoping your awkward excuse would be taken at face value. You tried to offer a small smile as you stepped back instinctively toward where you'd left your guitar bag slouched against the far wall.
Austin's gaze followed your movements, silent and unreadable. His dark eyes caught on the way your hand rubbed the back of your neck, the universal gesture of awkwardness and retreat. You were already halfway out the door, at least mentally.
He hadn't been paying attention to the time either. The late hour hit him only after you said it aloud, and when his eyes flicked to the clock again, a quiet exhale left his chest.
You were right. It was late. Way past when he should've locked up. Practice had ended well over an hour ago and neither of you should've lingered long.
He exhaled quietly, then nodded once. "Alright."
You shuffled around to check if you'd forgotten anything, but he only stood there like he was chewing on something internally. It looked like he was trying to find something else to say, something meaningful, maybe, but the words didn't come.
The conversation hadn't gone the way Austin expected. Not that he'd expected much in the first place... but still.
He'd dragged you around a bit today, in his own way. Tried to get a feel for who you were. Get a glimpse beneath the surface. But you had been hard to read. Quiet. Guarded. All he really figured out was that you didn't like drums, had trouble keeping eye contact, and had a habit of chewing your inner cheek when nervous.
Then again, Noah had been like that too. All jumpy and awkward until he warmed up, and now he was practically bouncing off the walls, a loudmouth extrovert who filled every room like a one-man circus act.
People could surprise you. Austin knew that. Still, it was hard not to feel like he'd missed something with you.
He crouched for a moment to stuff a few stray things into his bag, even though he hadn't brought much. Unlike you, he didn't have a guitar to sling over his shoulder or a hard case to snap shut. But either way, there was no real reason to stay now.
As he stood again, his eyes flicked to the dark window. The glass reflected his own faint silhouette, but beyond it was the night. And maybe something else too.
A thought that wouldn't leave.
Before you could disappear out the door like you always seemed ready to, Austin stepped forward. His presence loomed a bit more than usual now, his tall frame blocking a bit of the light as he moved up beside you.
Without warning, he reached past you and pulled the door open, holding it there with one hand. His body turned slightly toward yours.
"I'm going now too," he said, simply.
Your hand hovered near the strap of your guitar bag, pausing mid-motion. You glanced up at him, caught off guard by the sudden closeness. The silver of the room key twitched slightly in his hand, clenched between his knuckles like a habit.
"I can walk with you if you want. Just... until you get to your stop."
The words were simple, casual even. But coming from him, they meant more than they sounded.
Austin wasn't the kind of guy to offer things he didn't mean. If he was offering to walk you somewhere, it wasn't because he thought you were fragile or that he wanted to play nice. He had his reasons. Reasons he probably hadn't even admitted to himself yet.
You blinked at him, a little stunned. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother..." you said softly, still half-holding the door, like you weren't sure if you should step through it or stay put.
He shook his head immediately, a subtle but firm motion. "You're not a bother," he said without missing a beat. His voice held that same grounded certainty it always did, like he didn't care if you doubted yourself, because he didn't.
"I'm going that way anyway," he added after a second, more casually this time. "Might as well keep you company."
You didn't know he lived in the opposite direction of your stop. That he lived closer to the brand's practice spot than the train station. That he was offering because he remembered how you'd said once that you still got turned around in this part of town. That walking the streets this late made you uneasy.
He wasn't about to spell any of that out.
But as you stood there hesitating, his lips curved just slightly. He looked vaguely amused by your hesitation.
"C'mon," he said finally, and this time, his hand came up lightly to your shoulder. "Let's go." He turned you gently, his grip warm and steady, then stepped behind to close the door. You heard the key click in the lock, final and firm.
"Thanks," you murmured instinctively out of politeness, though your voice was barely louder than the creak of the practice room door closing behind you.
The two of you stepped outside, the transition from fluorescent lighting to the soft, grainy glow of streetlamps making everything feel just a little more surreal.
Austin shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket, his shoulders rising just slightly against the cold breeze. His posture was loose but guarded, the kind that said he was always halfway bracing for something, even if he didn't know what.
The silence between you stretched like a thin wire, taut but not unpleasant. The only sound was the steady crunch of both your footsteps on the gravel-lined pavement, mingled with the occasional car in the distance or a dog barking a few streets over.
Austin didn't seem like the type to fill the quiet, either. He walked beside you with the kind of practiced indifference that made you wonder what was going on behind his eyes.
Still... you felt the need to say something. Because if you didn't, your mind would keep replaying the weird intensity of the evening until it unraveled into something embarrassing.
So you took a small breath, eyes trained forward, and confessed softly, "I always found you a little intimidating."
For a beat, your words hung in the air.
You glanced away quickly, a small, sheepish smile tugging at your lips. "Guess that's why I never really started conversations. Sorry," you added with a low, half-laugh, like you were trying to make it sound like a joke.
Austin's steps didn't falter at your admission, but his head did turn slightly in your direction. Your words didn't annoy him, if anything, it amused him.
He couldn't blame you for finding him intimidating. He'd cultivated that image on purpose, a barrier between himself and the rest of the world. It was easier that way. Safer. Less complicated.
But hearing it from you… someone he still couldn't quite figure out… it made him pause.
He cast a sideways glance at you, taking in the way your eyes didn't quite meet his, the way your mouth curved with a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes. You weren't joking as much as you were trying to cover yourself. That smile—it was too careful.
He wondered, idly, how that smile would look if it were bigger. Loose. Genuine. The kind of smile that wasn't trying to protect anything.
"Don't worry about it," he said after a moment. "I'm used to it. People usually either talk too much or not at all around me."
You glanced up at him again, this time a little more directly. Your heart still fluttered nervously, but the air between you felt less strained now. Maybe even a little easier.
"What about me?" you asked, the words slipping out before you had time to second-guess them. "Which one am I?"
Austin looked at you, not even hesitating with his answer.
