âYou have the loveliest eyes,â A crooned, sliding into the seat beside B.
B shot them a dry look, angling their eyepatch in the dim bar light.
âWell, eye,â the annoyance corrected.
It only took about 3 seconds to identify their type. Peeking eyeteeth, hungry predator stare, corpse pale skin. Vampire. Not old school. Undead usually stuck to threads from their own era, and Aâs lack of a waistcoat and cravat meant they were at least from this century.
B flicked up their collar and ducked the hole in their cheek into their jacket. âWhy are you talking to me?â
âWhatâs your deal? Your friends dare you to come over or something? Trying to get a closer look? Yes, my skin really is this blue. No, pieces of myself donât actively fall off. And no, Iâm not going to tell you the story of my âundeath.ââ
The vampire held their hands out in front of them. âWoah, fists down, sunshine.â They settled in firmer. âDo people really ask those sorts of things?â
âWhat? Youâve never been asked that before?â It came out a little more sarcastic than B had intended, and despite themselves, a bit of guilt edged in on the perpetually ravenous ache in their gut. It wasnât the vampireâs fault they were a more fortunate undead than they were, the sort people ogled and romanticized and begged to come nearâeven at the risk of something dangerous.
But it was still infuriating.
Who did they think they were? Coming up here with their looks and their cheesy lines, thinking B would just fall all over themselves to bask in their attention. They werenât stupid; they knew what was really happenâ
âIâm sorry; I didnât mean to upset you. I just thought you were cute and wanted to talk to you.â
B gaped, forgetting too late to keep their chin tucked down. Surely theyâd seen the hole, and all the teeth within, but for some reason A didnât cringe.
That wasnât actually possible right? People didnât get romantic about their sort of dead. It was too messy, too ugly, too unstable. This was still a set up. Just like B had suspected. It had to be.
âForgive me for not buying thatâŠbut Iâm not buying that.â
They moved to turn back to their drink, but suddenly the vampireâs face was right in front of theirs. If anyone had lovely eyes, it was them, a deep molten amber that rippled in the light.
âWe can go somewhere more private if you like,â they said, flickers of fangs showing through their sultry smile. âJust you and me. Would that prove my intentions?â
âNot really,â B said flatly.
A long sigh dogged the end of the vampireâs chuckle. After a moment, they held out their hand. âCome with me anyway? For spontaneityâs sake?â
B stared. And stared. And stared. Until theyâd committed the glossy black tips of those slender-fingered nail points to memory. They supposed it really couldnât hurt. It wasnât like a vampire could hurt them, not physically, and they were already prepared for the worst, so they should be emotionally sound too.
âFine,â they said, accepting Aâs hand.
People said a vampireâs skin was cold as ice, but temperature wasnât really something Bâs body recognized anymore. Theyâd been used to it for a long time, but for some reason in this instant, the lack of sensation hit them like a tidal wave. Soaking them in long past wants and wishes theyâd thought successfully and deeply entombed.
They were probably going to regret this.