A ringing could be heard at the front door. "Vana, go answer the door." Ms McCollin ordered as she took another swig from the beer bottle.

With a sigh, I rose from the sofa and made my way towards the door. Once I had opened it, I was surprised to come across three beaming faces.

"Vana! It's your friends Jordan, Ethan and..." Jordan turned around to point at Nick. "Nick!"

"Uh-huh..." I mumbled. I looked at Nick curiously. "What brings you here?"

Nick smiled at me before shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm fulfilling my end of the bet," Nick explained as he nudged Ethan in the arm playfully.

The boys gave Nick a solemn nod before Nick made his way inside the house. "Ms McCollin?" Nick started.

Ms McCollin furrowed an eyebrow before hesitantly pulling the bottle away from her lips. "What do you want?"

Nick gave a cheerful smile despite Ms McCollin's rudeness. "Mr Sullivan agreed to give my friends a ride home." He turned to his friends which a hardened expression. "But unfortunately, his car won't start."

Where is Nick going with this? I feel like I know Ms McCollin well enough by now to know that she doesn't care about Nick's problem in the slightest.

"So, Mr Sullivan asked me to come and ask you for jump cables," Nick said as he turned around once more. "He really would appreciate your help."

Ms McCollin started to blush as she tried to hide her face behind the bottle. "He asked for... me specifically?"

Nick nodded happily. After a brief pause, Ms McCollin rose to her feet proudly. "I suppose he can't help it. I am the most dependable person around these parts after all."

After declaring those words proudly, Ms McCollin nearly stumbled as she made her way out of the front door.

Yeah, dependable isn't exactly the best choice of words that would best describe her when she's drunk like this...

Following Ms McCollin's lead, the three boys slowly made their way towards Nick's house. I watched them slowly disappear from view, while completely oblivious to the conversation that was taking place outside.

"Vana is hot," Jordan commented. This took Nick by surprise as his eyes quickly widened in response.

"Huh?" Was all Nick could manage to say.

"I can see why you talk about her so much." Jordan continued as he rested both arms behind his neck in total relaxation.

"We're just friends..." Nick affirmed as he refused to look Jordan in the eye.

A sly smirk crept up on Jordan's face. "Then you wouldn't mind if I tried to hit on her then, would you?"

Nick furrowed his eyebrows at Jordan's cockiness. Jordan continued. "What? You're just after saying you're just friends. So why should you care if nothing is going on between you two."

Ethan who was listening to the entire conversation proceeded to walk backwards as to face both Jordan and Nick. "Knock it off, Jordan. You're just trying to start a fight."

Jordan shrugged his shoulders as he kept a fake smile plastered across his face. "I just asked him a simple question. That's all."

Nick rolled his eyes as he looked at Jordan in disgust. "Yeah? Well, here's my final answer. Don't hit on, Vana."

Jordan's mouth contorted into that of an 'o' as he looked at Nick in awe. "So, you DO like her!"

Back inside, Cyrus finally came downstairs once the coast was finally clear. He sat down on the couch beside me. "What's that smell?" He asked as he started to sniff around.

Lazily I picked up one of the beer bottles from the floor to show Cyrus. "Alcohol with a hint of loneliness."

Cyrus nodded his head, not entirely understanding my words but enough to get the basic gist of it. As he slowly turned his head towards the TV he was completely entranced with the movie. Breakfast at Tiffany's.

As we silently watched the couple reconcile in the end, Cyrus slowly turned his head to face me. "What are they doing?"

Ah geez, so I really do have to explain everything to him, don't I. With a begrudging sigh, I awkwardly started to fiddle with my hair. "They're kissing in the rain."

"Kissing?" He asked with his head innocently cocked to the side. "What's that?"

"It's how two people show their affection for each other. Understand?" I looked at Cyrus firmly. "It's how you express your love for someone."

Cyrus nodded his head before moving closer to me on the sofa. "Can I kiss you then?"

I felt my body tense up at his boldness. S-So forward! "That's eh..." my voice trailed off.

Cyrus gently cupped my hands and held them tightly. "You've been caring for me all this time. So, I want to show you how grateful I am and... how much I love you in turn."

I'm starting to think letting him watch romantic movies is a bad idea. At this rate, he'll end up becoming some kind of Casanova. Then again, it's better than watching horror and giving him ideas...

As Cyrus continued to look at me with sincerity, I swallowed a gulp in response. Would showing him how to love normally help to humanize him? If there's a chance that it'll help to subdue the yandere within him, then I guess I have no other choice but to bite.

Closing my eyes, I embraced myself for the kiss. It was short and sweet. It's sad to admit but this is one of the few times I've kissed someone without any reservations about it.

"So that's a kiss..." Cyrus mumbled to himself while tracing his lips. In a split second, his eyes were ignited by passion as he pinned me down to the sofa to kiss me once more. Except this time, it was far more aggressive and hungrier.

Once he finally released me, we both found ourselves panting in shock. "Don't just jump me without any warning!" I protested between breaths.

"Sorry, I just couldn't help myself," Cyrus said as he pulled me to sit upright. "I just want to show you how much I love you. Being apart... hurts."

As Cyrus leaned forward, he placed an ear against my chest. Just as I was about to berate him, a heartfelt smile grew on his face. "Your heart is beating as fast as mine. This means you feel the same way, right?"

Cyrus looked up at me hopeful. "You love me!" He said while stroking my face tenderly.

Rather than love, I'd argue that it's more to do with shock that my heart is beating like crazy. "It isn't a good idea to jump to any conclusions," I stated.

Looking down at my nails, I hung my head sadly. "I'm here to help reunite you with your people, remember?" I clasped Cyrus's hand shut. "So, one day, I might be gone. You need to prepare yourself for that."

It was hard but necessary to tell him the truth in my eyes. I'd rather that he know in advance about me leaving for the next world. That way he won't be as torn up as Stefan and Luka were...

"So, you want to throw me away..." Cyrus muttered to himself as he got up from the sofa. He looked at me with a darkened expression. "Fine."

Making his way towards the front door, he opened it before taking one last glance at me. "If I'm really that much of a bother, I'll just get out of your hair and find my people myself!"