Olivia’s head was still spinning when Rachel dropped her off. They’d kissed one last time, and then both swore not to tell anyone.

It’d been Olivia’s idea, obviously. No one could know she had a thing with Rachel, of all people. She’d never hear the end of it. Especially not from her housemates.

That said.

She thumbed in a text to Kara: you home? need advice

From upstairs she heard a burst of laughter. Two voices, high and giddy. One was Kara, but the other…

A twinge of deja vu, but nothing Olivia could place a finger on.

Probably just some girl from campus, she thought. This is what I get for teaching Kara how to use dating apps, isn’t it?

Her phone buzzed, a text splashing across the screen: yeah sure but jsyk i have company

I know, Olivia texted back. I can hear her.

She leaned against the wall with a sigh. The last thing she needed was a schoolmate overhearing this whole mess.

Come to think of it, why the hell had Kara brought a girl here? To the creepy manor where at any moment you could turn and see a vampire drinking blood out of a wine glass?

I want to talk about something I’d really rather an outsider isn’t here for, Olivia hammered in, thumbs moving a mile a minute. If you catch my drift.

“It’s alright, Livvie,” chimed in a voice. “She’s one of us.”

Olivia’s head whipped around to see Kara, standing at the top of the stairway. She wore an easy grin, and her arm was wrapped around a smiling blonde.

A distinctly familiar smiling blonde.

“Lillian Atwater?” Olivia hissed, eyes wide. Of course, of all people Kara had brought home, it was the fucking cultist. Seeing her here, all smug and self-assured, whatever doubt Olivia had had dissolved. This woman knew what she was doing. “How did you--”

“Olivia!” Lillian exclaimed, beaming in a way that didn’t reach her eyes. “Well, well. I never expected to see a fellow Freakspotter here.”

“You’re not one of us,” Olivia growled. When Kara gave her a suspicious look, she added, “You’ve… only ever been to one meeting.”

Lillian tittered. “Yes, I apologize for that. Things have been… busy.”

“How did you even find us, anyway? There was supposed to be a glamour--”

“I’m a witch, silly,” Lillian interrupted. “Some fey glamour meant to guide away human eyes is nothing for my power. In fact, I pick up magical tampering like a bloodhound picks up prey.”

What a creep. “So you knew everything that was going on. And now you’re dating my housemate.”

“I guess so,” Lillian purred. “I have a lot on my plate, you know. I think I’m allowed to date around.”

“But you’re…” Olivia trailed off. This wasn’t the time. Who knew what the girl had up her sleeve? She was literally a cultist.

And said cult kept Olivia from visiting her family.

“You said you needed advice?” Kara prompted before the silence could suffocate them. “Is it a vampire question or, like, an adulting question?”

“A bit of both,” Olivia admitted, suddenly sheepish. “I was hoping to just talk to you. About how, you know… biting and stuff works.”

The words came out slow and stunted, and Olivia silently chided herself. This was stupid. No need to be all timid like a child asking where babies came from.

“Oh, is that it?” Kara exclaimed. “Sheesh, Livvie, I thought it was serious.” She cocked her head to the side, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Is there someone you wanna sink your teeth into?”

A hot blush crept up Olivia’s cheeks. “Grow up.”

“Maybe she wants a demonstration,” Lillian teased. “What do you say, Kara?” She slipped a finger under the black fabric of her turtleneck.

“I really don’t want a demonstration,” Olivia deadpanned.

“Good,” Kara cut in, “because I really don’t need an audience.” She shot Lillian a look.

Lillian pouted. “Killjoy.”

“I am not a killjoy! It’s just that Livvie’s like a little sister to me, and…”

Olivia didn’t hear the rest of it. She spun on her heel and stormed off.

I hate it here, she thought. Good thing I live with several vampires. One of them’s bound to be helpful.

She sauntered down the hall, tiptoeing when she passed Rosalyn’s study. Not that it mattered--the woman could hear if you dragged your feet from three floors up--but it felt polite, at least, putting on the charade.

Before Olivia knew it, she was at the door to Angelus’s room.

Even though months had passed, she wasn’t all too sure how she felt about the guy. They all had their quirks, but his seemed especially… consuming.

Sure enough, if she closed her eyes, she could hear him counting under his breath: “Two hundred and seventy-three, two hundred and seventy-four two hundred and seventy-five…”

He’s still a vampire, Olivia reminded herself. And Rachel thinks he has some weird on-and-off relationship with Trintio, so he might know something about intimacy.

Olivia gave the door a knock, and the counting came to an abrupt stop. Silence sunk its teeth in, always chilling in a house this big.

Just as Olivia was about to turn and leave, she heard a low, soft, “It’s unlocked, you can come in.”

Olivia pushed open the door. Angelus sat curled up on his bed, a canopied thing with long, silky curtains.

“What’re you counting?” she asked.

“The flowers on this blanket,” Angelus muttered. “This whole cult thing has me on edge. I can’t remember the last time I counted anything in my room.”

“It’s got us all on edge,” Olivia said. She lingered in the doorframe--Angelus was a peculiar character, and even now, she never quite knew how to approach him. “I can’t even visit my own grandmother.”

“My condolences.” Angelus sat up, stretching out his long, slender arms. Even now, he was in a nice, lacy top and some matching trousers. The man even sulked in style. “Anyways, I assume you’re here for a reason.”

No point in beating around the bush. “Yeah, I guess I just had… you know. Vampire questions.”

“Vampire questions?” he echoed, cocking his head to the side.

Olivia studied the floor. “I heard something about how… biting people, apparently, feels different from drinking blood out of a bag.”

“Oh,” Angelus said. All of a sudden, he sounded very small. “And you’re asking… me?”

“You weren’t my first choice!” Olivia blurted out. “But Kara has a girl over, and I really don’t like the girl--”

“Lillian, right?” Angelus interrupted.

“I just know she’s with that cult.” Sighing, Olivia sat down beside him. “Do you think she’s dating Kara for information? Or is it the other way around?”

“Hard to tell,” Angelus conceded. “I told Rosalyn, but she doesn’t seem all too concerned. Which means we shouldn’t be, either. Not yet, at least.”

Olivia watched his eyes scan the blanket. Probably counting in his head. “But we are.”

“Yes, because we have common sense. Anyways!” He put on a smile. “Biting. You’ve come to the right place: if you’re looking for venom suppressants, I know where Rosalyn keeps them.”

“Venom, huh?” Olivia shuddered. “Is there no… nicer way to put it?”

Angelus shrugged. “Vampires reproduce by infecting others, for the most part. I’m not sure what else you could call it.”

“And these suppressants don’t have any side effects, do they?”

“You might get some tingling in your jaw, but that’s it.”

This feels like sex ed all over again, Olivia thought. Except instead of worrying about pregnancy or STIs, there’s the whole risk of turning someone undead. Great.

Whatever the case, there was no turning back now. It was smart to have some kind of protection. “So, where does Rosalyn keep them?”

“Right with the emergency blood rations.” Angelus stood abruptly, and held out a hand. “I’m surprised no one’s shown you this yet. You’ve been here, what, three months?”

“I guess no one was worried about me biting people.” She tried to laugh, but reality had already sunk in. Three months, and what did she even have to show for it? A loss of humanity, isolation from her loved ones, and a fall from grace as a student into solid B+ territory. As it turned out, being a vampire impacted your grades a bit.

Angelus either didn’t catch her nerves, or willfully ignored them. “I mean, you spent the first month holed up in your room, either freaking out or doing homework.”

“Sometimes both,” Olivia shot back. “I’m a hell of a multitasker.” Finally, she took his hand. “Let’s go.”

~

Like most members of the manor, Olivia avoided the basement when she could. It was damp, cramped, and overall eerie.

Besides that, it was home to the emergency blood rations. No one enjoyed being near the emergency blood rations.

Since being turned, Olivia had more or less lost her hunger and thirst. After all, vampire bodies had no need for such sensations.

But being near blood, especially a whole barrel of it, brought forth the memory of both. It made her head spin, and she brought her cardigan up over her nose as she steadied herself.

“Should’ve warned you,” Angelus muttered. He’d done the same with his blouse. “I always forget how strong it is.”

Sure enough, on a shelf by the barrel sat a little white box. Scrawled across the side in stark red lettering was BITEY BITCH PILLS.

“Gonna assume it’s these?” Olivia asked, snatching the box with her free hand. “The bitey bitch pills?”

“Kara and I used to call them that,” Angelus said with a laugh. “Speaking of which…”

“I hate her new squeeze more than you do,” Olivia said, cutting him off. “She’s with the cult, dude. I know you said not to be concerned, but come on.”

“Not that I don’t believe you, but…” Angelus frowned. “We haven’t found any proof yet.”

“She’s Lillian Atwater. Fucking look at her.”

The basement door spun open. Olivia spun around to see none other than Kara, arms crossed and eyes narrowed to golden, glittering slits.

“Why’re you looking at Lillian Atwater?” she asked.

Angelus perked up, twitchy as a bird ready to fly off at the first loud noise. “You know, eavesdropping is generally frowned upon.”

“Why’re you dating a cultist?” Olivia deadpanned.

Kara tsked at them, not unlike a disappointed parent. “Cultist is such, ah, a reductive term, don’t you think? She’s part of a fringe community I don’t necessarily agree with, but that doesn't make her a cultist!”

“If you’re about to say you think you can fix her…” Angelus trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We can’t do this again, Kara.”

“Again?” Olivia echoed.

“She has a tendency for dating pretty girls with violent tendencies,” he muttered. “I’ve heard it all: Angelus, I swear, she’s just misunderstood! Angelus, she’s in a dark place! Angelus, someone spilled coffee on her band tee--”

“Last time was decades ago!” Kara exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “And listen, really, we’re on the same side. Plus, Lillian’s a total wellspring of information. And that she might invite me to future swarms, which we can then sabotage?”

“What the hell is a swarm?” Olivia cut in.

At this, Kara’s easy grin cracked. “Well, uh, I’ll say this: it isn’t pretty, and sabotaging one would save a lot of lives.”

“Does Rosalyn know this is what you’re doing?” Angelus asked.

“Who cares?” Kara threw her hands up. “Just quit worrying.”

And that, of all things, was what made Olivia snap. “You realize that while you’re taking your time seducing a cultist, some of us are cut off from our families, right?” she demanded.

“Some of us don’t even have families outside this house,” Kara shot back. “Do you know how lucky you are, Olivia? To have someone to be cut off from? I don’t even know if my parents are dead or alive.”

“Oh, so you’re jealous.” Olivia scoffed. “I have something you don’t, so you don’t care what happens? Imagine if the tables were turned. You’d hate me, wouldn’t you?”

“I’m getting there already, Liv.”

Angelus stepped between the two, hands up. “Okay, let’s not get carried away. We can talk this out.”

“Or you guys can let me live my life!” Kara retorted. “I’m going to do what’s been working for me, and Olivia here can…” She trailed off, groping for words. “You can call your grandma, or whatever.” She whirled around and stormed up the stairs before anyone could say anything.

Olivia flipped off her back as she disappeared.

“So, the pills,” Angelus piped up. He handed Olivia the little white box. “Take these daily, and let me know when you run low.”

“Thanks, Angelus.” Olivia studied the box. “Let’s get out of here.”

~

Olivia’s room still had yet to feel like her own, but she’d curled up there regardless, pillbox in one hand and smartphone in the other. She sat against her bed’s black headboard, legs crossed on her bed’s black blankets, gaze fixed on her bed’s black canopy. She’d made some attempt at studying for finals, but it’d died short. Her textbooks were splayed out on her bed, wide open like butterflies with their wings pinned, but she hadn’t gotten five minutes in before losing focus.

Rachel’s latest text lit up the room: LILLIAN? REALLY?

Yeah, Olivia texted back, Lillian. The cultist. My roommate is dating the cultist.

WHY???

Idk but this whole thing makes me want to pack up and leave. I mean, you know vampire stuff, you could help me with that. We could do this. We could LEAVE.

I say we stick around just a little bit longer.

Olivia rolled her eyes, knowing Rachel wouldn’t see it.

Easy for you to say, she shot back. She’s not at YOUR house.

A typing bubble appeared, but before Rachel’s rebuttal came forth, Olivia heard a knocking at her door.

“Come in,” she muttered.

The door swung open slowly, and standing in the hall was Daisy. The girl wrung her hands together.

“I was wondering,” she said, voice high and soft, “if you wanted to play racing games with me downstairs. Everyone else is busy.”

And there it was: a reason to stay. At least for a little bit longer.

Olivia gave her a weary smile. “Sure, kid.”