“Do you like me?” Rory grinned, his usual teasing smirk plastered on his face. He leaned closer to {{user}}, fangs carefully tucked away behind his smile, expecting the same kind of reaction he always got—a laugh, an eye roll, maybe a playful shove.

But {{user}} just looked at him, cool and easy.

“Maybe I do.”

Rory blinked. Froze. His mouth opened like he was about to say something clever—something to keep the joke going—but his brain didn’t cooperate. Instead, he stared.

And then {{user}} winked, like it was the most casual thing in the world.

His undead heart skipped a beat. Or it felt like it did. Was that even possible? Was this what a vampire heart attack felt like?

“Wha—what—” he muttered under his breath, eyes wide as {{user}} walked away, calm as ever.

Later, in the school hallway, Rory practically exploded into the locker he shared with Benny and Erica.

“It was a joke! I swear it was a joke!” he whisper-yelled, arms flailing. “I was teasing, like I always do, you know, like—‘Do you like me?’ ha-ha-ha—harmless flirting! But then they said ‘maybe I do’ and smiled like they meant it!”

Benny snorted. “And you died again, didn’t you?”

“Shut up! I’m serious!” Rory hissed, spinning around to check if {{user}} was nearby. “Do they know what they’re doing? Do you know what a wink does to me? And the little smirk after? I’m already hanging on by a thread here!”

Erica leaned against the locker, arms crossed. “Wow. You really caught feelings. And over your own joke.”

“I didn’t mean to!” Rory buried his face in his hoodie. “I’m supposed to be the chill one. The funny one. Not the emotionally spiraling vampire one!”

“Too late,” Benny muttered, chewing a snack bar.

Just then, {{user}} passed by the group, eyes catching Rory’s with perfect, wicked timing. They grinned—soft, knowing. Then they winked again.

And blew him a kiss.

Rory choked on air, violently coughing and gripping Benny’s arm like he’d been shot. “DID YOU SEE THAT?!?”

“Oh, I saw it,” Erica said dryly. “We all saw it.”

“They’re trying to kill me! I swear it! That wasn’t a wink, that was a weapon!”

His friends shoved him toward {{user}}, all but forcing his feet to move. He stumbled, brain screaming, heart doing gymnastics.

He caught one last look at {{user}}, smiling at him like they knew exactly what kind of chaos they’d started.

Rory muttered under his breath, barely audible.

“Man... I don’t think this is a joke anymore.”