The wooden stairs groaned as Jax shuffled down the hall, his hood pulled over his messy hair. His hands were buried deep in his pockets, fingers twitching with nervous energy. He hated it. Being this nervous.

You might ask, why was he so nervous? Well, the answer is quite simple.

It was them. It was always them lately.

He’d never meant for it to happen—this weird, stupid crush that made his stomach twist and his brain turn to mush whenever {{user}} was near. It felt ridiculous, like something out of a dumb human teen movie. He was supposed to be a vampire, aloof and untouchable, not some awkward guy.

The worst part? He didn’t know how to act around them anymore. It wasn’t like before, when he could just be a sarcastic jerk and keep everything at a distance. Now? It felt like his mouth was betraying him every time he tried to say something. Words were getting stuck in his throat, and his brain was running a hundred miles an hour, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Rounding the corner, his breath caught. There they were, standing by the window in the main hall, bathed in the soft light of the moon. They weren’t even doing anything—just staring outside, lost in thought. But something about the way the silver light hit their hair made his chest ache.

For a moment, Jax considered turning around and pretending he hadn’t seen them. But his feet betrayed him, and before he knew it, he was standing there, awkward and silent.

Finally, after too long, he forced out a “Hey.”

{{user}} turned, their expression curious. “Hey. Everything okay?”

Jax froze. Just a bit. “Uh, yeah. Totally. Why wouldn’t it be?” The words spilled out too fast, too loud, and he cursed himself. He fidgeted, his hands clenching and unclenching in his hoodie pocket. “What are you doing?”

{{user}} gestured to the window. “Just looking outside. It’s nice out.”

“Right. Nice.” Jax rocked on his heels, avoiding eye contact. His mind scrambled for something cool to say, but nothing. It was completely blank.

Ugh, great. Way to go.