A secret admirer's love burns brighter in silence.
As I watched Mose pick up the book, I could tell he sensed something different about it. His usually calm demeanor shifted, replaced by a mixture of awe and curiosity. The crumpled pages crackled with a strange energy beneath his touch, sending a shiver down my spine as if I could feel it too.
He hesitated—just for a second—before reaching for it again, drawn in by something neither of us could name.
His eyes widened, flickering with surprise, intrigue, and something deeper—determination. It was as though he had unearthed a secret long buried, something waiting for him all this time. The book, stripped of its cover and forgotten in his sister's locked room, radiated an allure he couldn't ignore.
How Mose ended up in that room was a mystery, even to him. The air was thick with an unsettling stillness, broken only by the rustle of brittle pages and the faint scent of ancient parchment. He knelt amidst the wreckage of discarded beer cans and strange, glistening slime trails—an eerie contrast to the quiet gravity of the moment.
After our conversation, Mose avoided practicing magic—for two whole days. But the book found its way back to him. As if defying his resistance, it lay open to the exact page where he had left off. While Mose cautiously sought out spells he could actually master, Rolo remained fixated on his pursuit of cursed volumes. Had Rolo known Mose possessed one of those books, he wouldn't have hesitated—he would have snatched it away in an instant.
"I think he did most of his magic around you," Simon noted.
I raised one eyebrow questioningly.
"I'm not a mage, I can't be sure..." the ghost began. "But I also sensed some kind of sticky magic that wanted to get to you at all costs. Moses prevented it with his blood magic."
"What?"
"It seems someone is desperate to find you," Simon replied. "Judging by the creepy feeling, a black mage."
"Wonderful," I sighed.
Perhaps I'd been too hard on Moses. But before I softened, I reminded myself how easily humans die.
"Thanks," I said and started toward the classroom. "Keep an eye on him."
School was more tedious than ever. Most of my classmates were already in full-blown panic mode, buried in their books as if the final exams were looming rather than months away. Honestly, I couldn't understand the hysteria—there was still plenty of time. If it were the last day before the exams, then their desperation would make sense. But right now? It was just unnecessary suffering.
Not that I was worried. Twenty-four hours is more than enough to change the world—trust me.
"Dude," Alex began with a large grin on his lips and held out a note to me, "She says she wants to meet me!"
"Really?" I asked still not interested.
"Yes, after school in the park!" grinned the wolf. "Do you think I should go?"
I nodded and stood up. "Let's go."
"Huh?" Alex frowned.
"I'm coming too, mate," I smiled, "I wouldn't miss the big reveal."
Alex finally nodded, secretly relieved to have such a good friend by his side. If he had known that I had already figured out the identity of his secret admirer, he might not have been quite so grateful for my company.
We made our way to a nearby park, strolling at an easy pace. I hung back while Alex settled onto a bench, waiting with quiet anticipation. It wasn't long before Martin appeared, casually taking a seat beside him. That was the moment I lost it—I couldn't hold back my laughter any longer.
Alex, of course, remained blissfully unaware of the disaster about to unfold.
"Hi," Martin greeted him. "What's up?"
"Uh, yeah, hey Martin", Alex replied, unsuspecting, "You know, I'm, uh, I'm kind of busy right now, waiting for someone."
"Yeah, I know," Martin replied unable to meet Alex's eyes.
I could see the shock dawning on Alex's face, yet he still hadn't pieced it all together.
"How did you know?"
"The thing is, you were waiting for me," Martin confessed, and his ears started to turn red.
Alex jumped up in horror.
"What? What? No, I wasn't waiting for you!" Suddenly, the color drained from Alex's face, and he fled without any explanation.
The poor boy called out to Alex with a broken heart, but the wolf didn't seem to hear his desperate attempts. When he arrived next to me, he looked at me with a grim, sad look, as if his whole world had been shattered into tiny pieces.
"Don't say a word!"
I didn't need to. My laughter said it all.
(...)
The next morning, Alex screamed like death himself was standing in our doorway. I dropped my phone from my hand and ran out into the hallway still hearing the rattling of pixel zombies. I found my best friend in the middle of a pile of mail.
"What the hell is this?" I frowned, "Listen, tell your admirer that this is a bit much!"
The wolf growled under his nose as he sorted through the leaves.
"Fuck, they're all for you," he declared, "What have you got yourself into now?"
I shrugged and sat down on the carpet to help Alex. All the envelopes were readdressed to me by Mr. Blutkaiser. He must not have been happy to be bothered by so many vampires because of me.
With a grimace of disgust, the wolf threw a pink envelope into my lap, which smelled so strongly of perfume that my stomach jumped. I opened it and laughed.
Alex furrowed his brows as I dropped the letter in his lap. For a moment he looked at the page, shocked, and I thought he had been permanently broken by the naughty lines. For almost half a page, the vampire girl detailed my amazingly desirable qualities, while at the same time trying to persuade me to spend a hot night with her.
"That's...eloquent," my best friend summed up, crumpling the letter and throwing it in the bin.
In the next letter, an older, married woman tried to impress me by describing her vivid sex fantasies. She wrote that of course her husband had agreed, and that if it didn't bother me, he would join in. In my embarrassment, I did nothing but laugh.
Some of the letters were even accompanied by pictures, and what was most shocking was that not just pictures of women. I also got a few marriage proposals, and some people asked about my blood type.
After the twentieth letter I didn't even read them, I just burned them ritually. Of course, Alex laughed when I couldn't destroy a charmed envelope, and every time I threw it away it somehow found its way back into the letterbox.
After that, I went to school. Of course, Alex made up some excuses about staying home because he wasn't feeling well. I knew he was lying, but I let it go.
Martin came up to me at the last lesson to ask about Alex.
"Hey, Shay," he greeted me, "listen, is Alex... okay?"
Not many dared to approach me, let alone in such a casual manner. In any case, I turned to the boy with a slight smile, surprising even myself.
"He's just feeling a bit under the weather," I replied.
"Well, I'm a bit worried," he started solemnly, "I might swing by after school and drop off his homework."
"Really?" I began, trying to suppress the mischievous grin threatening to spread across my face, "That's kind of you. He'll appreciate it."
Martin beamed happily. "Oh, uh, do you happen to know where he lives?" he asked, a hint of embarrassment coloring his cheeks.
"Of course I do," I said with a smile. "Do you have a piece of paper?"
He produced a green slip of paper, and I quickly jotted down the street and house number. As he walked away, I couldn't help but smirk to myself. This was going to be hilarious.
(...)
In the afternoon, Alex was unsuspectingly cooking in the kitchen while I sat at the table reading the articles on Kaleidoscope. The doorbell rang.
"Who could it be?" Alex muttered to himself.
"I don't know," I replied, looking up from my phone. "Can you check?"
"Yeah," he said, throwing his apron down on the chair.
As my favorite werewolf walked toward the gate, head bowed and gloomily fiddling with his keyring, I strolled into the living room and approached the window. From there, I had a perfect view of the unfolding scene.
The other boy, oblivious to his dream man's instant panic attack, merely smiled wanly.
"Hi!"
"What are you doing here?" Alex asked, and realizing he might have sounded rude, quickly added, "I mean, hi, um, I wasn't expecting you to come over."
For a long, awkward moment, they just stared at each other in silence, like a pair of miserable sods.
"So, erm..." Alex started tentatively. "What's up?"
"I was just dropping off homework and stuff," Martin said, adjusting his backpack. "Can I come in?"
Before Alex could respond, Martin readily let himself in through the gate, which had mysteriously been left open. Alex froze for a moment. The once safe barrier between him and the determined boy disappeared. Oblivious to Alex's inner turmoil, Martin continued chatting as he headed toward the door. After a few seconds of hesitation, Alex followed, resigned.
Martin turned back and smiled warmly. "I've brought you some apple pies too."
"I don't really like apple pies," Alex muttered.
"Really?" scowled Martin.
"Yeah, er, Martin, listen, I don't want to offend you," Alex began awkwardly, "but, er, well, I like girls."
I could see a world shattering into tiny microscopic pieces inside the other boy. But surprisingly, he pulled himself together quite quickly.
"Yeah, uh, me too, buddy, yeah, okay," he said.
"I'm glad we are on the same page,' Alex sighed, as if a weight had been lifted off his chest.
But then an awkward silence settled between them, and I chose that sacred moment to inject my uplifting presence. I swung the door open and greeted them with a smile.
"What's up, lovebirds? What are you talking about?"
I pretended to notice the foil-wrapped package in Martin's hand and theatrically sniffed the air.
"Oh, apple pies," my grin widened. "Look, Alex, your favorite!"
Martin shot a confused glance at Alex. "But you said you didn't like it..."
"Who, Alex?" I feigned shock. "Don't be silly, he loves it!"
Alex's face turned crimson as he stammered some excuse about feeling unwell. He looked mortified at being caught in a lie. Suddenly, I playfully tapped him on the forehead.
"My goodness, Alex, you're burning up!" I exclaimed worriedly. "Go inside and lie down immediately, I'll bring your medicine!"
Never had I seen such relief in Alex's eyes as he hurried into the house, grateful for the escape.
"Shay, uh, sorry, but what are you doing here?" Martin asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.
I didn't want him jumping to any wrong conclusions.
"Oh, me?" I started, feigning boredom. "I live next door, and I was just checking to see if Alex was okay. He's a drama queen when he's sick—gets a little flu and acts like it's the end of the world." I shook my head and patted Martin on the shoulder. "As his best mate, it's my job to keep him alive."
At this, Martin felt a little better and laughed. I took the bowl away from him, said goodbye, and without waiting for a reply slammed the door on him to protect Alex's arse. I then went into the living room where Alex was trying to smother himself in the sofa cushion.
I unwrapped the pie and offered it to the lethargic wolf.
"Well, look on the bright side, mate," I began with a grin. "I got you free pastry."
Maybe these moments... Maybe I could live for these moments.
(...)
The next day, Alex yelped, and although I knew I would regret it, I walked into the hall. I groaned in agony at the sight of the pile of letters, which somehow seemed even bigger than the day before. Two burning questions loomed before my eyes. The first was how to stop the wretched vampires. The second was how to move as quickly and as secretly as possible.
That's when I decided to call Coffee. She picked up after the first ring, for which I secretly thanked the heavens.
"There's a bit of a situation here," I began gravely.
"Did anyone get kidnapped...?"
"No, it's worse than that," I groaned, "I can't move from the letters since the ball! I swear I'm going mad!
"I kind of saw this coming," she replied.
"What?"
"At the end of the ball, a lot of people came to see my father. At first, I didn't think much of it because he's always the life of the party, but his eyes had this strange gleam when he smiled—I couldn't imagine how scary it must be to see Coffee's father grinning...—Now I understand why he seemed so cheerful."
Coffee paused for a moment, and I could hear a chuckle on the other end of the line.
"Can't he just burn them instead of sending them here?"
"See, he likes you," Coffee teased.
"How could he like me?" I objected, "If this is what he does to people he likes, I don't want to know what he does to his enemies!"
Coffee just laughed and hung up the phone. I was left speechless, gaping like a beached fish. Feeling slighted, I stomped into the kitchen where, while making myself a mug of cocoa, I vented to Alex about what a bastard Blutkaiser was. Still puffing, I sipped the cocoa reading the latest articles on Kaleidoscope.