Standing just inside the door of Bricked and Baked was Tara, stuffing her face with a croissant. Jack slowed down before entering, eying her. With a sigh, he pushed his way in.

"Get what you want and add it to my tab," Tara said by way of greeting.

He looked at the counter then back to her. At her insistent nod, he went up and ordered. He even remembered to mention his pseudo-employee discount. He pulled out his wallet, only for the cashier to wave him off with a smile.

"It's covered!"

"But—"

The cashier leaned forward, dropping his voice as he glanced Tara's way. "I'm in a kickboxing class. I'm not risking getting singled out. Again."

Jack reluctantly nodded, tucking his wallet away. He flinched when Tara appeared beside him, thrusting an envelope in his face. He took a moment to take in his name before accepting the envelope and looking inside. He pulled out a gift card to Rick's Electronics and frowned at Tara. "Early Christmas gift?" he asked.

"No." Tara shook her head as she reached past Jack to grab a small handful of napkins. "Your prize for winning the kidnapping lottery."

His stomach dropped at the reminder. "It wasn't that bad," he insisted. "Thomas is… Well, he's got some personal problems, and he's—"

"Wait, you know the guy?!" Tara narrowed her eyes as she settled her hip against the counter. "Sam ain't gonna like that. What else did you leave out?"

Her tone was too knowing. "It's not like I know how to find him. Kieran's the one who knows him, and even he doesn't really know. I didn't lie. And it's really not a problem, I swear. I just got caught up in his idea of a hazing ritual." He hoped she would buy the excuse. It was better than drawing attention to the fact that he had a bad vampire habit.

"Hazing? For what?"

"Antiquing." In more ways than one. His drink was called out, and he hurried past Tara to grab it. He didn't like the intrigued look she was giving him.

Tara rolled her eyes and pushed off the counter. "Fine. You'll spill sooner or later," she said as she led the way outside.

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Jack picked up his drink and followed her into the cold. Vampires were the one thing he couldn't confide in Tara about. She was understanding, but she'd probably have him committed if he started going on about how great his blood tasted.

They walked along the park's winding path at a leisurely pace. Jack's eyes lingered on a small bridge that sat over a frozen creek. A couple stood in the middle, taking selfies and laughing and kissing between takes. He knew what he wanted for his lock screen. Who could he get to take a nice picture of him and Kieran without teasing him too much?

He was pathetic and fully in the deep end of fresh love. He could just imagine how bad he'd be if he didn't have all his mental issues.

"Did you change your spritz?" Tara asked once they passed the bridge.

"Hm? Oh! Not wearing it today." He knew he forgot something. He was getting too comfortable and losing his not-so-healthy dose of paranoia. He surreptitiously looked in his bag and relaxed when he saw the bottle sitting beside his taser.

"Oh. Huh."

Jack looked up at the thoughtful tone. "Why?"

"You smell weird." She looked away with a small frown.

"Like what?" He'd showered that morning and even cleaned up his stray hairs. Somehow, he'd managed to not have a panic attack over the smell of cleaning products when he'd used the bathroom before leaving. Maybe so much bleach lingered in the air that it infused itself into Jack's hair.

"Like… I dunno. Sweet." Tara looked at the ground with a shrug. "It's not bad. Kinda nice. But it's different from everyone else, and it makes me wanna curl up and cuddle with you."

Jack's breath caught as a chill ran up his spine. "Tara…"

She seemed to remember herself and avoided eye contact as her shoulders tensed up. "I'm fine. It's fine."

She didn't look any different to Jack. Didn't seem to be acting any differently aside from her weird comment. "Lemme know when it's not, okay?"

"Sure."

Somehow, his best friend had become a vampire behind his back. When did it happen? Why didn't she say anything? Probably for the same reason Jack hadn't spoken to anyone about his personal vampire habit. Who would believe him?

It was exciting and terrifying. He finally had someone to talk to about the crazy turn his life had taken. Someone who knew him from before. He could come clean about everything and also be there for Tara if she needed support from someone else who was in the know.

How far along was she? Was it immediate? Did it work like some sort of infection and slowly took over? He didn't know that much about how vampires worked outside being their prey.

He stared at the ground as he spoke quietly. "You'll still be my best friend even if you turn into a vampire and try to suck my blood."

"A what?!"