A/N

Y'all how did I write 2000 words in two days but when it comes to my original books I can barely write 100 a day? Help 😭

.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・

Nya had been through many weird days (well, nights) in the past, but that one had definitely been the weirdest one of them all by a long shot.

Despite not needing to sleep much (she was a night owl and a vampire, after all) she fell asleep within minutes of landing on the boy's bed.

What was his name again? Kay, Mave... Dave? Last night was a complete blur to her for whatever reason. All she remembered was that she had met a kind stranger with an amazing taste in bed sheets.

Speaking of which... she kicked said sheets off the bed, quickly tidying them back up as she realised her sudden gesture.

She rubbed her arm, only for a stinging pain to flood her senses as she finally looked down at the red rash on her skin.

Looking back hesitantly, she squinted at the harsh light coming in through the window.

She hissed slightly, closing the curtains as fast as she could, her breathing only becoming heavier by the second. The interaction had lasted for less than a few seconds, yet she felt as if she had run a marathon.

The door clicked.

"Oh, you're already awake... uh... are you okay?"

She looked behind her to see the boy sporting blue, striped pyjamas and bunny slippers while holding a water bottle in his hands.

Straightening up, she tried to hide her panting and stepped towards him. "Yeah, uh... thanks for letting me stay again..."

"Jay?" he smiled awkwardly.

She returned the gesture as she finally recalled his name. "Yeah."

It didn't take long for him to notice her staring hungrily at his water bottle.

"Do you need some water, or..."

"Yeah!" she perked up. "Yeah, water would be fine."

She followed him to the kitchen, finding him rummage through his mini fridge clumsily.

He tossed a bottle at her. "Hope you don't mind bottled water. Tap water isn't of the best quality in the neighbourhood... but, um, yeah."

She chuckled, taking more than a few sips. "It's just fine."

The silence that started to fill the room after their small talk was awkward, to say the least.

"Um, so... Are you planning on telling me about all this Mafia stuff? I have a distant relative who's a policeman—well, at least I think so. He's pretty old so maybe he's just dead, but y'know."

She couldn't help but laugh to herself as she heard him blabber on and on. She couldn't tell if he found her intimidating, but perhaps he did, considering her brother would act the same whenever she was mad at him.

"How can I trust you?" For whatever reason, she already knew she could. Yet a voice in the back of her head told her to put said trust to the test.

"I hid you from that scary dude, for the record," he said. "And, besides, it's not every day that someone breaks into your apartment and steals your clothes."

Right, she had yet to give him an explanation for that part.

"It was cold outside, to be fair, and it's not my fault you don't have central heating."

"And you do?"

How was she supposed to explain that two of her friends were literal Nindroids capable of becoming a walking heater?

Well, she wasn't.

"Fair enough..." she admitted defeat at last. "Look, I really need to get out of here. They probably know I'm in here... somewhere and I wouldn't want them to hurt you either."

"I guess that makes sense... Do you have any money on you?"

If she didn't blush with his previous question, she sure was now. Coughing discreetly, she shook her head.

His only response was a sigh, though she couldn't tell whether he was relieved or annoyed. "I guess we're going to Chen's... again."

Even if she didn't know the place, the question still hovered in her mind. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing. Just me constantly going there after forgetting to go grocery shopping."

"Oh."

He looked at her for a second before awkwardly squeezing past her to get to his room, their thighs only slightly touching in the process. He cleared his throat, closing his door at last.

"Do you... want to wear different clothes or something. Or, uh, take a shower?" he said through the door, and the sounds that accompanied his voice could only mean that he was changing clothes himself.

"No, I'm good," she tried to say casually, looking into his bathroom. "Do you happen to have any sunscreen anywhere?"

"Second shelf in the medicine cabinet," he said. "Pale skin, harsh sun, cold weather... you know how it is..."

She shook her head with a smile. At least she wasn't the only one sensitive to the sun.

.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・

As they walked down the street, her still dressed in the unusually comfortable clothes of the blue-loving boy she had met, she took a moment to admire the tall skyscrapers of the city.

Sure, the air quality was... not the best, and the noise was more than she could have ever asked for, but... it was comforting all the same.

Right behind a busy street stood an enormous building, one whose architecture resembled an ancient temple.

"What's that?" she pointed at the large sign on the front, though she couldn't read its text.

His face lost its colour as he cleared his throat. "Oh, that's Saunders' Paranormal Museum. He stores all the paranormal and supernatural artifacts that Clutch Powers finds in there."

"I see..." she said, her voice laced with suspicion.

"My neighbour is Mr Saunders, actually... He, uh... he has some cool stuff in there, but I mean, I doubt it's real. He showed us 'a real mermaid's tail' a few years back... Can you believe that?"

Nya tried to keep her cool. "Crazy..."

"Yeah... Um, the restaurant is just behind the corner, so... let's go."

Slowly, she nodded.

.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・

"Since when did you add calamari soup to the menu?" Jay told the waitress, his face buried in his menu.

"Since just serving noodles became too stale," she said, her ponytail swaying as she turned her head to face him. "Will you decide now?"

"Relax, Sky. Your food's too good to decide from anyway," he said. "What do you use?"

"Magic," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

He laughed humourlessly, handing her his menu at last. "I'll have the chicken noodles."

"Gotcha. Hope you and your friend over here will enjoy," she said, winking at Nya as she strolled off.

Ignoring her comment, Jay turned to his companion sitting opposite of him on the couch around the table. "I think you'll really enjoy Skylor's food. It really does taste like magic," he said, a chuckle escaping his lips.

She was indeed hungry, though she didn't know how to stop her thirst for not only water, but blood as well. Pretending to enjoy something as stale to her as noodles was going to be s challenge.

"So, what do you do for a living? I mean, if you can afford eating here so often..." she asked him.

"Oh, I'm an engineer. I work for Borg Industries."

Her face lit up. "The Cyrus Borg?"

"Well, kinda. I'm not that high up the ladder yet. And I basically ask for a week off every month, so... I don't have much hope."

"Why is that?"

He fiddled with his fork shyly. "Oh, well, I mean, working is tiring, so I ask for a week off every month. Not that much to it if that's what you were wondering."

She raised an eyebrow at his blabber, but he continued talking.

"So, uh, what do you do then?"

She smiled. "I dabble a bit with mechanics in my spare time, but I mainly help at out at my friend's tea shop."

Before they knew it, Skylor came in rushing through the door, an apron tied around her waist and a tray in her hands.

She put down the two plates, surprising Nya with the steak she had ordered.

It was... well, cooked, but not well-cooked. From her side, she could still see a bit of blood pouring out from its inside.

She looked at it hungrily before Jay proceeded to grab the plate off the table.

He raised an eyebrow at the waitress. "Sky? Did you even cook this?"

"I know what I'm doing," she smirked at Nya. "But first, I'll need to speak with Nya here."

"How do you know my name?" the girl in question was quick to ask.

"Sky, come on, leave her alone. The bill's on me anyway."

Nya wanted to glare at him, but the redhead was quick to drag her away into a small room right next to the bathrooms.

Inside was a single chair resting against a wooden desk, one which had a computer on top, along with two other monitors.

The moment she closed the door, Skylor pulled her in a hug.

"I can't believe I got to meet Kai's infamous sister."

She looked at her shocked, pushing her away. "How do you know about Kai?"

"He hasn't told you? We're dating."

She was left with her mouth open, remembering the picture Cole had found back at home.

"Well, it's kind of long distance right now, but he does visit occasionally. He's been calling like crazy lately asking for you."

"One thing at a time," she thought to herself. "How are you two dating? Do you know about..."

"Yup," she said, wiggling her fingers as sparkles flew from their tips. "I'm a witch. And you're a hybrid."

"Yeah... I... I am," she said. "Look, there's this kid from Stiix that some bad people kidnapped and I've been looking everywhere for clues. Kai would kill me if he found out about this, but I'm the only one who even knows what they look like!"

"Well, that's why I brought you here. I know what you're talking about."

"What?"

The redhead turned towards the monitors, pulling up footage from the restaurant's parking lot. The video was dated to the previous day.

"I knew getting security cameras with audio would come in handy," she said, pressing play.

She skipped until the clock read '3:45AM', at which point audio started playing.

The two men from the previous night were chatting outside, one of them lighting up a cigarette in the process.

"Did you put him in the truck?" the one in the straw hat said, blowing a cloud of smoke in the air.

"Yup. Ready for delivery," the other one said. "I don't get it. We were just at Saunders' place a few hours ago, why couldn't we deliver him there?"

"We can't just cut his horns out in an apartment, doofus," he rolled his eyes, blowing smoke in his face. "We'll do it outside of Stiix. Who knows what more we may find in these waters."

"You seriously don't believe the sea monster myth, do you?"

"If Oni can exist, so can it," he said. "We're leaving tomorrow noon. Don't forget to feed the kid something first."

"I know, I know."

The video paused.

"I hope this helps, at least," Skylor said. "And don't worry about Kai. I'll tell him you're staying with me for a while."

"Yeah. Uh... thank you."

She smiled. "Anything for my future sister-in-law."

"Your what?"

She couldn't object further as she was pushed out the door.

Skylor waved her fingers, sparkles coming out as she gave her a wink. "Enjoy your steak," she said.

And she did.