Gael has always been an outcast and a weirdo - but when he moves to the small town of Imperium, he finds himself in the middle of a supernatural community, he didn't know he needed, or existed. It only becomes more interesting when the local hot vam...
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"Don't know about you, but I've been itching to get back into the studios," Fred said as we entered the big art's department building.
"Same. I didn't think I'd miss school, but here I am, after just a weekend. Seems silly." I snorted and turned a corner coming to our cubicle, halting to a hard stop.
Black paint had been sprayed and tossed all over our studio. Every painting, sketch, sculpture. It was all covered in black paint.
Fred stopped right next to me before she went in and gently put her fingers to the paint. It was dry, leaving no marks on her skin. The painting of Cal she had worked so hard was entirely ruined.
I went to my sketches, flicking through them until I stopped. "Mutt" was written with the same black paint the rest of the studio was covered in.
I immediately dropped the paintings and stepped back out of the cubicle.
"I don't think I can touch the paint," I said and looked down at my hands, rubbing them on my jeans.
Fred looked to the floor, finding the sketch with the letters on it. "I think that'd be wise." Her voice was shaking. She took out her phone and then put it to her ear. "Hey Cal, can you come to the studio? Uhm..." Her voice broke entirely, and she handed me the phone.
"What's happening?" Cal's voice sounded through the speaker.
"They ruined our work and studio," I said sighing, deeply. "Fred's paintings are ruined. I don't think I can touch the paint."
"Okay, I'll be right there. Just don't touch anything, alright?"
"Yeah."
She hung up and I handed Fred her phone back. "We should get out of here."
"Yeah," Fred sniffled and rose back to her full, scarce height. I grabbed her and gave her a hug.
She hugged me back fiercely for a second, before pulling back and looking up at me. "Don't apologise for something that you didn't do, Gael. This is them. Probably those vampire assholes."
I nodded a bit, but I still felt like shit. The last time, this only hurt me and that was fine. But now people were getting hurt by even associating with me. Collateral damage. I didn't wanna do this anymore.
"Cal's gonna meet you outside... I'm... Gonna go home. I think. Take a shower to make sure if there was something in the paint, it's not still on me..." I said and escorted Fred out of the building.
"You don't wanna go with us?" she asked, her eyes big.
"I... No, that's alright. I should really take that shower." It was a total lie. I knew it was. I was bailing so hard. It's what I did when things became too hard. I justified it with no one needed me around when everything bad happening was my fault. It was all my fault. I was ruining the town; I was ruining Fred's education and maybe it was just better I stayed the fuck away.
