*The main lobby was a chaotic storm of parents and cheap plastic furniture, but after a long wait, you finally got the key for room 842 and escaped to the elevator. It's a standard, mildly worn ride up to the top, the 8th floor. You step out, your worn backpack slung over one shoulder, carrying a single, manageable box of essentials in your arms. The long, tiled hallway stretches before you, lit by the usual college fluorescent hum. Your room is at the end. After the card swipe, the door to 842 swings open. The room is unexpectedly huge, a spacious corner suite with a wall of glass leading to a promising balcony—far too spacious for two people. The space is largely empty on your side, but Keiko Sato is utterly unpacked and perfectly still on the bed furthest from the door. She’s scrolling on her phone, her perfect, jet-black bob motionless. She doesn't even bother to look up until the thud of your one box hitting the floor is unavoidable. Her eyes finally lift, instantly cold, but her expression remains unreadable—a mask of porcelain stillness that hints at aggression and profound upset simmering beneath the surface. She gives you one of her signature, unwavering stares before she speaks, her voice a low, furious murmur.* "f~ck! I thought I was gonna have the room all to myself! Who the hell are you?"

*blushes* h..hi my names lilia w-whats yours?

*The cave was silent except for the low rumble of Draneth’s breathing.* *He sat deep in the darkness, back hunched, long hair spilling around him in tangled shadows. The storm outside hadn’t bothered him he liked the sound of thunder. It reminded him of the booming roars from his childhood, the ones the demons had made when they tore his parents apart. Thunder was softer. Almost gentle.* *He picked at the dried blood on his knuckles, teeth gritted. He had hunted earlier, too aggressively again. The strength he carried was unnatural, unwanted. The demon clans had been right to fear what he could become; they just never understood why he had become it.* *If they had watched their parents die screaming, they would have turned into monsters too.* *A faint crunch of gravel echoed from the mouth of the cave.* *Draneth’s head snapped up.* *Not many creatures were foolish enough to approach his territory. His pupils thinned, and his lips pulled back slightly over his sharp teeth. If it was another demon, he would kill it. If it was an animal, he would drag it further inside before the storm ruined the scent.* *But the footsteps… were hesitant. Light. Almost trembling.* *A human? Or something close to human.* *He rose silently, stalking forward. His claws scraped the stone as he moved, though the storm outside swallowed most of the sound. He stayed just inside the darkness, letting his silhouette dissolve into the cave walls.* *A figure stepped inside, soaked from the rain, breathing hard. He heard the strain in their breath the exhaustion of someone who had been wandering too long. Hunting, maybe. Lost. And running from the growing storm.* *A mistake. A fatal one.* *But they didn’t smell like the demons who had killed his parents. Their scent was different grounded, earthy, touched by smoke from tribal fires. They muttered something under their breath, maybe a prayer, maybe a curse. They were simply seeking shelter.* *Draneth’s muscles tightened anyway. Mercy was not something he understood anymore.* *He moved closer, each step almost silent, watching how the person lowered their pack and leaned against the cavern wall. They clearly had no idea whose cave they had stepped into. No idea the stories whispered around campfires. No idea that the monster children were warned about was standing just a few breaths away.* *His claws clicked once on the stone floor.* *The person froze.* *He saw their shoulders tense, saw them slowly turn their head to the sound. Not seeing him. Not yet. Their eyes squinted into the darkness, confused then afraid.* *Good. Fear was natural. Fear made sense.* *Draneth stepped fully into the thin sliver of lightning coming from the cave mouth. His form came into view tall, wrong, powerful. The horns, the pointed ears, the glowing eyes. The wild hair dripping from the storm moisture in the air.* *He watched the person’s heartbeat spike in their throat.* *A part of him some buried, crumbling part remembered what it felt like to be that terrified. Small. Helpless. Trapped.* *It made him angrier.* *He bared his teeth.* *The person stumbled back, but the cave wall was behind them. Nowhere to run.* *He stalked closer, breath low and rumbling in his chest. If they screamed, the storm would swallow it.* *But then he smelled something beneath the fear.* *Not deceit.* *Not arrogance.* *Not violence.* *Just exhaustion.* *Cold.* *Desperation.* *The kind he had lived with since childhood.* *The person whispered something maybe an apology, maybe a plea he didn’t understand but they did not attack. They didn’t even raise their hands.* *Draneth stopped in front of them, looming, shadows curling around his massive frame.* *Normally, by now, he would have struck.* *Normally, instinct would have decided for him.* *But lightning cracked outside, illuminating the cave. In that flash, he saw their trembling form, saw the dirt on their clothes, saw how close they were to collapsing from hunger and rain and fear.* *Something inside him stuttered.* *Not compassion.* *Not yet.* *Recognition.* *This person wasn’t here to challenge him. They were just lost.* *Like he once was.* *A low growl rumbled out of him warning, territorial, dangerous but he didn’t raise his claws. Instead, he turned his head slightly, watching them from the corner of his eye, then stepped back into the deeper part of the cave.* *He didn’t invite them to stay.* *He didn’t trust them.* *He didn’t like them.* *But he didn’t kill them.* *The person slowly slid down the wall, trembling but still breathing. They must have realized they’d been spared, though they didn’t understand why.* *Draneth didn’t understand either.* *He retreated into the darkness again, settling where he could still hear their heartbeat. Every crack of thunder hid the sound of his quiet, conflicted breaths.* *The storm raged outside.* *Inside the cave, the monster everyone feared let a stranger live.* *He told himself it was only because they weren’t a threat.* *But the truth something he would never admit was that for the first time since his parents died, his loneliness had been interrupted.* *And he hadn’t hated it.*

*Maris wanders down the dimly lit aisle of the bookstore, one hand brushing against the spines of novels as if she’s searching for a particular story. She pretends to scan the titles, but her eyes keep flicking to the person at the end of the aisle—the way they’re leaning slightly, absorbed in their book, the small tilt of their head that makes her chest tighten unexpectedly. Her heart skips, and she catches herself thinking, “God... look at their hips... their thighs... and that oh so adorable face... I want them... No. I need them. All for myself... My little plaything... Wait, what? What am I thinking!?”* *She suppresses a quiet laugh at her own bold thought, adjusting her sweater and taking a deliberate step closer. She pretends to reach for a book just slightly out of reach, leaning over them, letting her presence brush theirs. Her smirk is subtle, teasing, as if daring them to notice the flutter in her pulse, to catch the mischievous spark in her eyes. Every small movement is measured but playful: a soft inhale, a glance that lingers a fraction too long, a casual brush of her fingers across a book cover. In that quiet aisle, the world narrows, and it’s just her and the sudden, delicious electricity of seeing someone who makes her heart skip.*

*It's a snowy and icy day in Pine Hills. You go outside and carefully make your way to the cans outside your yard. Across the street is the Taylor residence. Mike Taylor is a well known gangster and dealer. His daughter is Rob Taylor one of your classmates. She comes out and looks like she has been crying and sits on the porch. She hasn't noticed you yet.You put your trash in the can and go to take a step when you slip and hit your head hard on the ice. Now she has. Rob laughs. Probably the first time she has all day.* That was one heck of a fall. It is what you get for eavesdropping. *She slowly makes her way to you as you moan on the ground.* Here let me see. *She checks your head* Yeah that's a pretty gnarly gash. Don't worry I'll tell our classmates you saved me from a burglar or something. Make you sound cool and not clumsy. Lets get you inside and cleaned up. *She helps you up and lets you lean on her as you walk* Don't worry man I don't think you have enough brains in there to damage. You should be fine. *she makes an attempt at a joke and looks away for a second.* Anyway... *She leads you inside your house and sits you on the couch. You tell her where your first aid is and she starts to clean your wound* This is nice... cleaning up someone else's wounds for a change... *she appears wistful for a second*

*my stomach growls at the same time yours does and i laugh.* "hehe, your hungry too?"

}...? *Before you is a young woman in high school uniform. Is she your blind date?*

}. I'd like to make a pact with you," he said, his voice firm but imbued with electric emotion. The moment seemed loaded with possibility, and Luna could barely contain her excitement.

"Well, well... look who’s here. I didn’t expect the silence to last long. I’m here—no need to tiptoe around. Let’s see what’s on your mind today."

‎*One day, I decided to visit my friend Maria. When I rang the doorbell and the door opened… I froze.* *It wasn’t her.* *It was a young man—calm, polite, and unbelievably handsome, wearing a simple white sleeveless shirt and casual pants. For a split second, I wondered if he was her husband.* “Hi, can I help you?” *he asked.* “Oh—h-hi. I’m here to see Maria,” *I replied, trying to smile normally.* “You mean my mom?” *…His mom?* *So this was her son. The little boy I vaguely remembered had grown up. A lot.* *Maria soon appeared and hugged me excitedly. We chatted for a bit, laughing about old memories, until she suddenly received a work call and had to leave for a while.* *And just like that, I was left sitting in the living room with her son.* *Oh god.* *Why is he this handsome?* *I could feel my face heating up already.*