"Ash! Oh my god, you actually came back!" Chloe runs and hugs me as soon as she sees me.

  This is my second visit at the psyche ward now. It's actually really nice to know I'm helping her mood by just coming here.

  "Of course I did," I told her. "Why wouldn't I?"

  "I don't know. I might have scared you away or something?" Chloe's embarrassment is apparent by her red face, but I couldn't help but notice just how low her self-esteem was.

  It's probably something I'll ask Oscar later, but I have a suspicion she's had difficulty maintaining either friendships or relationships in the past.

  "No, you're perfectly fine," I did my best to be as reassuring as possible.

  "Thanks," she smiles while adorably playing with her fingers, "B-by the way, did you hear back from Oscar?"

  "Oh, I definitely did." I sighed.

  "Really? You're trying to hook me up with your mentally ill sister?"

  Once again, I was talking with Oscar over the phone. We didn't have much chances to meet in person, so this was always how we stayed in touch.

  "Don't act like you wouldn't hit it," Oscar teases with a laugh. He's always treated me like a guy more than a girl, which probably explains why I became his best friend. It also doesn't help that I dress pretty plainly for a girl. I wasn't really one to have that distinctive 'feminine charm'.

  In terms of if we ever had any romantic feelings for each other, I did find him pretty cute, but I never really got the chance to find out if he did for me. I was already in a relationship when we met, but he's been there for me regardless.

  It actually made me really glad Oscar wasn't the type of guy that's only friends with you for the potential of being in a relationship or hooking up.

  "Ugh," I groan, "Oscar, I don't even know if I've even moved on from Kayden."

  "Oh, I know you haven't, Ash."

  "Huh? Then why-"

  "I want her to help you with a bit of your repressed feelings about what happened with Kayden."

  Without noticing, I find my mind wandering. I think back to how whenever I wanted to break down and cry at a moment's notice, Kayden would hold me in his arms. He usually wouldn't say anything, but the warmth in his arms was always the one thing in the world that I could rely on to make me feel safe.

  Time goes on a bit before I realized I had zoned out, and before I could reminisce even harder, I'm awakened by Oscar calling my name.

  "Hello? Ashtyn?"

  "Oh, yeah," I bring myself back from the reel of my memories, "Sorry, I'm still here."

  "...Hey, I know it's been pretty tough on you with Kayden gone. Honestly, I wish I was there for you when you needed."

  "Oscar..."

  "I mean it," he insisted, "That's why I'm hoping Chloe can shed some light on your heart."

  "That's what therapy is for, Oscar," I spoke candidly.

  "Is that so, huh? Then when's the last time you went to your therapy sessions?"

  I remained silent on the phone.

  "Yeah, that's what I thought," he laughs, "At least see if you two can vibe well. And I don't mean in bed, dude."

  "Oscar!"

  His comment turned my face red. He's always like this, trying to tease me and get a reaction. I thought I was getting used to it too, but the seriousness of the conversation threw me off a bit.

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  "But seriously, avoid breaking her heart. If you can, please," he asked politely.

  "Okay, I'll try my best and give her a chance."

  "Thanks, bud. Try to get a good night's rest this time, alright?"

  "Yeah. Thanks, Oscar."

  "Anytime, Ash."

  I smile a little, remembering the conversation Oscar and I had last night.

  "By the way," I hold out the heavy white tote bag of books I had beside me I almost forgot about, "Your brother sent a whole bunch of books to my apartment."

  "Yes!" Chloe's eyes lit up as she grabbed the bag.

  Oscar has a habit of sending me random gifts to my place. Because he knows I like to draw, it's not uncommon for him to send me multiple art books in a month. And because he's fairly wealthy, they're usually books I wouldn't be able to afford anyway on a Graphic Designer's salary.

  However, this time in particular, he let me know there would be a huge delivery of books that'll be at my house yesterday for Chloe. Unlike the art books he sends me, these were fantasy and fiction novels.

  "So you're a reader?" I asked curiously as Chloe shuffled through the stack of books like a kid unwrapping their Christmas gift.

  "Yep!" she smiles brightly, holding up one novel in her hands. "For me, they're like treasures from different worlds."

  "Ah, I guess that is one way to think of them," I think about how humanity actually has books and treasures from other worlds because of the migration of other beings, and the subsequence birth of demi-humans, their half-human children.

  Hence why we even have a dedicated mental health centre here in Barrie. Although the use of the word 'monsters' to refer to them is growing quickly outdated because of the unfortunately prevalent issue of demi-human discrimination in the world.

  "Oh, Chloe," I said, "Maybe that's an idea for our date: we can visit a bookstore."

  Instead of the happiness I was expecting from her, she oddly just stared at me for some reason.

  "...Are you serious?" she stated seriously.

  "Yeah? Is that okay?" I hoped I hadn't offended her in some way, but I couldn't think of how I suggesting we visit a bookstore for our date could be offensive to her as a vampire.

  Chloe placed the book on the table, got up from her chair and coldly walked toward me. At first, I tensed up, and then she grabbed me and screamed.

  Upon hearing Chloe, the psyche ward security guards came bursting through the door ready to detain Chloe with shock batons, only to find that she was squeezing me in an extremely overjoyed hug.

  "ASH, YOU'RE SO FUCKING AWESOME!" Chloe continued hugging me in her excitement, ignoring the presence of the armed guards.

  "Everything is fine!" I held my hand out towards the three security guards. "She's just...excited."

  They all relaxed their weapons, and a female guard non-verbally gave me a 'You sure?' look, which I followed with an assuring nod.

  "Okay! Okay!" I tried calming Chloe down as the guards made their exit from the visitor room.

  "I'm sorry. You're just being so nice to me!" she exclaimed.

  "Well, yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"

  "Um, I'm not sure," she seems to need to think of a reason why I would be kind to her, "I'm a vampire, so I might bite you?"

  The puzzled look on her face makes it clear she doesn't even believe what she's saying.

  "No, Chloe," I shrug, "In fact, just let me know if you need my blood in a pinch."

  I'm not even sure why I instinctively offered myself for her to feed on. Strange sense of déjà vu.

  "Gasp!" Chloe blushes at my words, her hands to her mouth.

  "What?"

  "That's such an intimate thing to ask for! I haven't even called you my lover yet!"

  "Huh? Is sucking someone's blood an intimacy thing for vampires?"

  Oscar may have told me at one point in time since we've known each other, but I'm honestly a forgetful idiot.

  "Well, it can be."

  "Between a kiss and sucking a partner's blood, which one would be more romantic?"

  "Blood sucking, but a kiss is still pretty romantic," she admits before grabbing one of her books she put aside, "Oh! I should get started reading this book!"

  Chloe sits at the visitor room table and begins reading the book quietly, something I'm sure she's doing to avoid more mushy conversation. However, when I looked at her, I'm flooded with a wave of nostalgia.

  "Hey, Princess, whatcha reading there?" Kayden asked as he walked into the living room.

  "Just a book," I stated simply as I enjoyed getting my mind lost in the pages of its adventurous contents. It also helped that I found myself a cozy spot on the sofa by the window to glance outside as the snow fell.

  I smile as I remember how the book was about two girls, a sassy necromancer and her knight, as they uncover the mysteries of a scary mansion on a faraway planet. Her knight was infectiously endearing.

  "Ash?" Chloe called out to me. "Do I look...weird?"

  "What?" I hadn't realized I'd zoned out and had been unintentionally just staring at her the entire time. "No, of course not. I'm sorry. And no, you look adorable."

  I smiled at her with my last sentence, causing Chloe to glow brightly before hiding herself behind her book to distract herself once again.

  "Just a book?" Kayden asked annoyingly before grabbing the book from my hands.

  "Hey! Give it back!" I shouted at him, trying to get my book back.

  "A book, haha?" he taunted, proceeding to flip through the pages as if to confirm I was reading a book with actual words. This caused my Life Is Strange bookmark to fall to the floor, losing the page I was just on.

  "Come on, Ash." Kayden held the book up in the air with his hand.

  He's taller than I am, so he had an unfair advantage of being able to confiscate anything of mine that he wanted. Just like that, I would be helpless to do anything about it.

  "You know you're allowed to stop being a nerd for once in your life, right?" he smirked at me.

  It was then that I didn't realize my face had visibly turned into a frown.

  End of Chapter 2