Crimson

II- Chapter 52: Exploiting Friends in a House of Cards

Belmont spun to the rhythm of his half-whispered love song, paintbrush between his teeth; a wooden retainer. The sunset melted onto his canvas and honeyed Y/n's eyes with warmth. He smiled. His portrait of her was almost halfway finished. And though he wanted to surprise her with it, he also wanted it for himself.

Belmont nipped his paintbrush (leaving faint fang marks) out of his mouth to reassess his muse, but froze. Popped the brush back in his mouth. And scratched his head.

He needed something else, something more... personal... to really liven up the piece. Although, maybe new art supplies wouldn't hurt either!

Still humming to himself, Bel turned towards his bed to tuck his supplies away underneath it, when he caught Y/n's acrylic eyes as he stood back up, only for his to turn silver.

A hard male voice was first, while the visuals lagged behind.

"I only wish there was more I could do Miss-"

"Please, it's Melanie. Or Mel. My friends call me Mel- Y/n calls me Mel."

The dining room they spoke in was difficult to see from the thickness of the night pouring in from the walkout glass door. The woman's weathered eyes made her look older than she probably was. But the man, whose black hat rested on the tip of his chair, his dark cape drowning the floor in ripples of fabric, was unmistakable.

"Thank you Sir Enebris."

"Please, it's Cadere."

Before Bel could register what he was seeing, his sights swirled into even briefer vignettes. The calming blue moonlight of the woman's kitchen dissolved into early morning. A quaint, dewy garden, peppered with winter frost. The peace was interrupted by thudding footsteps wildly appearing by desperate sprint, heavy panting. A tall boy threw himself at the ground and shoved his hands deep into the earth, knees black with dirt.

Bel swore he had only blinked, but the next thing he felt, before he could even see it, were the scorching flames searing his skin, charring his uniform. Outside, the fire voraciously engulfed the trees and crackled embers into makeshift stars against the otherwise black sky.

When Bel blinked again, he was staring at Y/n, coy strokes diluting the expression of his favourite student, her smile slightly crooked.

After what must have been several minutes catching his breath, Bel searched for consistencies and irregularities in his visions, his fingers molding his temples like dough. It was rare to have so many visions at once and they threw him completely off balance.

His thoughts now revolved around the girl and fewer around the new visions. Instead, his mental cinema plastered all over his mind the first one he'd had all year. The one of them happy together, holding hands, affectionately embracing. The one of them in love.

His body felt magnetized down the hallway, where he found himself directly outside Y/n's temporary door.

He knocked quietly, relieved that Cadere wasn't due back for another two days, and waited for her usual, warm greeting. It didn't come.

Belmont whipped his head left and right but didn't see anybody, and so, he opened the door and walked right in, before closing it gently, as he'd done before.

How badly Bel wanted to stay in the room until she returned. His now green eyes happily drank in the living space and every antiquated crevice that had brilliantly been transformed by Y/n's presence. One of their chalices from downstairs sat on her nightstand, half full. Her adorable stuffed bear lay at the head of the bed in front of the pillows (only half made). He smirked, remembering the night they met as a result of his and Roman's troublemaking. Indeed he recognized many of her belongings.