the next day, isaac slumped into class. he looked awful compared to his usual poise, grey hoodie pushed up to his sleeves and hair flopped in front of his face. his black jeans weren't ripped for style, and looked thoroughly worn in. he leaned on zen for most of breakfast, and tucked his head in his arms for all of his first class.
Vicente didn't even bother to go to class and somehow charmed his way into staying at the library for most of the time.
The memories of last night resurfaced. He wished he could suppress them, but the best he could do was try to avoid the guy as much as possible. So, he sat down on one of the couches and pulled out his phone, occasionally ogling the senior volunteer.
"zen, i feel terrible. can we go sit in the library?"
"yeah, sure isa."
they had a quiet walk over, and isaac ended up laying with his head in zen's lap in the corner.
Vicente eventually got bored and tucked his phone back in his pocket. He stood up and decided to get a book on chemistry, which he was failing horribly at.
zen idly finger combed through isaac's hair, until he noticed the legendary colgate approaching their section.
not again
"isa, look sharp. colgate is back."
isaac groaned in protest, but shifted to pull his hood over his head.
Vicente whistled as he scanned the row of books for- AP Chemistry. "Bingo," he grabbed the book and walked back towards the couch.
That was until he spotted Bell.
Vicente spun on his heel and decided to sit at the tables instead.
zen observed vicente carefully, noticing how he fled when he saw isaac. he furrowed his brows and leaned down to the mostly-asleep boy in his lap.
"bells, colgate tucked tail and ran when he saw ya. what the hell did you say to him?"
isaac sighed.
"something happened last night that i'd rather not talk about, because i probably hallucinated most of it. but he was sucking on kariin's neck, came away covered in blood, when i mentioned it he pinned me against a wall and i thought he was gonna kill me so i told him to go ahead. apparently it scared him. can i go back to sleep?"
"…bells. what the fuck?"
Vicente kept his eyes glued on the book, not even bothering to open it. He avoided looking at anyone, even when Amelia, captain of the cheerleading team, passed him in a tube top and shorts.
"bella, bells, isa, isaac, c'mon love. talk to me. what the fuck?"
"i told you, zen. i hallucinated something last night and scared vicente."
"bella, i'm gonna go talk to him, okay?"
"okay."
isaac moved so zen could get up, curling back up on the floor once he was gone. zen took a deep breath and walked over to vicente, placing himself directly in front of the other.
"so, colgate, care to say what's got you and bells so traumatized?"
Vicente ignored the prick and continued to stare down the book cover. Oh god, he actually told someone.
zen huffed and kept talking.
"bells says he hallucinated something and ended up scaring you. care to tell your side?"
I don't want to deal with this right now. "Fuck off," though his voice sounded calmer than the words he said.
"i don't think i will. isaac is usually pretty concerned with his appearance, being a model and all, but for some fucking reason he didn't have the energy today. i expect you to explain why, or i can and will get higher-ups involved."
zen was beginning to look pissed now, standing up to press his hands into the table.
"And what are you gonna tell them? That a- a vampire was sucking on some girls neck? Good luck," Vicente stood up and grabbed his chem book. "Now, if you'll excuse me, i'll be sitting somewhere where there isn't a heavy smell of," he looked him up and down. "Pricks."
zen tastefully ignored the last insult thrown his way.
"i'd tell them my unstable friend had an altercation with you last night and came away traumatized. what, did he tell you what he hallucinated?"
with the last question, he looked less angry.
"vicente, i'm sorry for coming up so strong, but i'm honestly concerned. isaac isn't okay, and as i've just mentioned he's unstable. did he look like he was freaking out last night? i really need to know."
Vicente was already starting to walk away but then turned around, his fangs snapping out with a smile before he walked away again towards the couch. This time, he opened it and hoped he wouldn't be interrupted since the prick got what he wanted.
zen stood for a moment, processing. after he fully understood what he just saw, he walked over to vicente again.
"i'll leave you alone, but just so you know, i have questions. i plan to see to it that they're answered. good luck."
he turned quickly, walking back to the corner where he left isaac. said boy was still there, a sad little lump of gray.
"aw, bells."
He rolled his eyes and continued to read, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. Maybe I should go over and apologize.
"heya, isaac. got him to say something."
"oh, did you now? is that a talent of yours?"
"don't sass me, i just worried over you. he called himself a vampire and flashed some pretty impressive canines, so i guess you were right. you didn't hallucinate."
"…surprising."
"isn't it? move up, i'm sitting back down."
isaac leaned up so zen could situate himself in the position he had been in before, leaving isaac to flop dramatically over his legs.
Vicente closed his book and tossed it to the couch next to him. He took a deep breath as he walked towards the two. "I apologize."
zen looked up.
"for what, calling me a prick multiple times even though i'm having anxiety over my mentally ill friend? is that what you're sorry for?"
isaac gave a weak groan, batting at zen's face.
"don't be an asshole, zen garden. be true to your name."
"isaac, i love you, shut up."
"Says the one who called me colgate despite me being dead. I can't control my paleness, you know," he folded his arms over his chest.
"look, isaac started that one. talk to him about that." he shrugged, smiling a little bit. was this… banter with the local heartthrob and undead? wack.
"Wait," Vicente gave the boy a confused look. "I thought his name was Bell." He ran his fingers through his long hair.
zen raised an eyebrow at vicente, chuckling.
"isaac bell. he gave you his last name. pretty cute, ain't it?" he ruffled isaac's hair under the hood, causing him to pull the hood off and sit up next to zen.
Vicente eyed the two, feeliing a twinge of jealousy. "Very," he smiled and lowered his head to get a closer look at the smaller guy.
isaac tilted his head up at vicente, giving him a good view.
he appeared disheveled, eyes glazed over and face flushed, but his high cheekbones and sharp features still stood strong on his pale skin. he looked rather annoyedly back up at vicente
"Hey cutie, how do you feel?" he tucked his hair behind his ear and chuckled at his reaction. His fangs snapped out to taunt him.
"put those away, colgate. you're not getting anything from me." he gave a small smirk. "i feel absolutely garbage, mostly because last night caught me on the beginning of a depressive episode. you?"
"And I'm really sorry about that, by the way," he gave him a sympathetic look as his fangs retracted. "I feel the same, thank you for asking. And if you're curious as to what 'same' means, just take a look at me and you'll know."