Now

FP collapsed back onto the bed the moment sex was over, no doubt exhausted. Kevin didn't blame him considering the substantial effort he'd put forth, giving Kevin all that he had and more. It had felt good in a way Kevin didn't usually associate with feeding. Normally, he just considered it a necessity for survival and nothing more, taking no pleasure in it beyond the physical process. But his time with FP . . . that was something that seemed more real than most, and he wouldn't mind coming back for an encore sometime.

He gathered his clothes and donned them, and had almost left the room before he turned back and pressed kiss to FP's cheek. The man had been good to him, and Kevin promised himself he wouldn't forget it.

Then he made his way back to the first floor, idly wishing he'd kept his jacket on he could stuff his hands into the pockets. The hour wasn't late, only just past eleven, and the bar was filling with the midnight crowd, rendering the atmosphere a touch too claustrophobic for Kevin's tastes. It was a relief to walk out the front door and down the down the front steps.

There were a few clusters of people lingering outside, and though several glanced at him too many times, sizing him up, Kevin wasn't afraid of any of them. With his recent feeding and the training Lara had given him, he could take any of them on. Hell, if he just directed his glamour their way, made them think of nothing else but how hot he was, he could end any conflict before it began.

At first, no one approached him, and Kevin thought he'd be able to reach his car in peace, but then one of the members split off from a group just as he turned his back.

"Hey," the guy called to him. "Hey, you, preppie! Wait up!"

Already on alert, Kevin turned back to him, evaluating the newcomer for potential threats.

He was slightly shorter than Kevin, but built similarly, though maybe not quite as slender and with a touch more muscle. He was young and had dark hair that he wore longer than was typical, blue eyes, and a leather jacket with the Southside Serpents emblem. The way he held himself was relaxed and casual but not overly so; he wasn't looking for a fight or a hookup, just conversation. The latter was a rarity these days.

" 'Preppie'?" Kevin repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"You telling me you're not a Northside kid slumming it for the night?" The stranger challenged, but his tone wasn't confrontational. "I can pick out all of you the instant you walk into the bar. Saw you go up the stairs with FP, by the way." He cast Kevin a shrewd look. "You two a regular thing?"

Kevin wasn't in a talkative mood. Right then he just wanted to go home."What's it to you?"

The stranger didn't seem put off by his lack of enthusiasm. "Because if you aren't, I'd like for the two of us to get together sometime."

Oh . Kevin shouldn't have been as surprised as he first was. It was just some other guy looking for a good time. Well, he'd already fed, but he supposed he could go for dessert.

"If you have a car, we can get it on right now," he informed the stranger.

The guy blinked, taking a moment to absorb what he said. "What? I—no. Listen, I screwed this up. Let me start over. My name's Joaquin DeSantos, and I'd like to take you to dinner sometime. If that's okay." He extended his hand.

Hmm. Kevin shook his hand even as the wheels in his mind whirred, trying to process this situation. He was accustomed to inspiring lust and all sorts of lewd invitations from strangers, as well as promises to give him the sun and stars if even if he wouldn't join them in bed. Raiths had a way of making people want to move the earth for them, either one way or the other. But a simple dinner date? He had never actually been asked to one of them.

It was probably just his glamour affecting Joaquin in a different way than most, he reminded himself. This interest wasn't real.

And yet, he still found himself accepting. "I'm Kevin Keller. And I'd love to go to dinner sometime."

Joaquin's eyes widened almost imperceptibly; Kevin wouldn't have noticed the reaction if he hadn't been looking for one.

"Keller?" Joaquin repeated. "Any relation to Sheriff Keller?"

"My father," Kevin told him with a smile. "Also, he's the man who has first priority in my life." He held out his phone to Joaquin. "You can add your number—if you still want that dinner date."

Joaquin squared his shoulders. "Hell yeah, I do. Here, give me your number, too." He passed Kevin his phone.

Covertly eyeing Joaquin while punching in the digits, Kevin wondered about his motives. Maybe Joaquin was trying to be a honeypot and use Kevin as source of information for the Southside Serpents.

Or maybe he wasn't a Serpent or even human at all—maybe he was some other creature entirely and trying to get in close to him to figure out his connection to Lara. Maybe he already knew.

But whatever the case was, Kevin couldn't let his guard down around him just yet.

So he gave Joaquin his standard smile when they traded phones back, not projecting the slightest bit of glamour at him, and lifted a hand in farewell.

"I've got to get going," he told him. "But I'll be seeing you."

"You sure will be," Joaquin promised. He pointed a finger at Kevin. "Remember. Dinner date."

"I'm looking forward to it," Kevin said, and he was stunned to find out it was the truth.

It had been a while since he'd really socialized with anyone, especially since he was no longer friends with Betty, Archie, or Jughead. Going to a restaurant and having a good time sounded like a welcome change.

It could be a setup, Kevin reminded himself, a trap from either someone supernatural or just plain old mortal.

Still, happiness persisted through his wariness, and he found himself grinning. He'd been invited on an actual date. Not a hookup, not a one night stand, but an actual date .

Maybe, just maybe, something in his life was going to go right.

Then

Kevin's life had changed enormously since his first Hunger, but the first time he truly comprehended just how much was different when he returned to school. Due to working out his own issues, he started his sophomore year nearly a month after the rest of his classmates.

His dad had helped him clear the path, writing him an excuse and supplying him with a doctor's note that said he'd been out with mono, when really Lara had been teaching him how to control his newfound vampire urges. He'd also obtained permission for Kevin to participate in cross country again despite missing the preseason and then the regular season of the program.

But really, Kevin wouldn't have needed any of the papers. Because as one of the White Court, it was very, very easy to convince people to do whatever he wanted.

A dazzling smile along with a heavy push of glamour had Ms. Ganesh willing to excuse him from all the history classwork and homework that he'd missed. A touch on Coach Clayton's shoulder had him writing Kevin a pass to the library instead of expecting him to attend class. And a caress of Assistant Principal Stanger's face (an admittedly bold move, but he didn't see why he should bother with subtlety when his vampire heritage already made everyone want him anyway) led him to forget about giving Kevin detention when he walked into the school building an hour late.

Even athletics no longer had any challenge. As long as he fed regularly, he was stronger and faster and had more stamina than any of his opponents. He could win his races without even trying.

And he could get anyone he wanted into bed with him.

His first day back, he was inundated with attention and enamorment from male and female students alike, and it wasn't necessarily limited to just the students, either. Kevin could understand why; after all, he was new and improved. Gone was the uncertain, gawky kid with overly-gelled mousy brown hair who dressed like an elderly professor right down to the actual loafers. In his place was a smooth operator with actual charm and confidence who wore clothing that emphasized his well-toned body and lithe build, someone capable of drawing people to him instead of sending them cringing away due to his awkwardness.

It was a welcome change, mostly.

But there was an inevitable downside to starting school so much later than everyone else: friendships had already formed and cliques had already been created, and he wasn't part of any of them. Betty Cooper, his best friend since childhood, had been befriended by fallen debutante Veronica Lodge. Together they'd joined the cheerleading squad, and now Betty divided her time between Veronica, cheerleading, and Jughead, who she had begun dating. And with his relationship with Betty and his excessive brooding, Jughead's schedule was also full. Likewise, Archie was now preoccupied with music and football. They were all too busy with their own activities to be particularly concerned with Kevin's absence or return. When Kevin returned, none of them had the time to hang out with him, or, apparently, any interest in doing so.

Kevin had the looks. He had sex appeal in spades: the allure, physique, and physical prowess. But it seemed that in order to get them, he'd had to trade his friends.

So, frustrated and lonely, he decided to use the power he had to do who he wanted: Moose Mason.

If he wasn't mistaken, Moose had been eyeing him up since the end of last school year, and Kevin even then had readily returned the interest. But there was a problem. Moose would never stray from his girlfriend Midge, who was also a friend of Kevin's and in student government with him.

But a few provocative poses and several heavy pushes of glamour later, Kevin had convinced Moose to come home with him after school. While Kevin wanted to be thrilled over the victory, trying to suppress the overwhelming guilt when he accepted proved to be a losing battle.

Feeding was feeding, Kevin tried to tell himself after cross country practice as he walked across the parking lot to Moose's battered pickup. It might have been wrong to chase after Moose when he was with Midge, but he needed to feed one way or the other. He would probably end up feeding from a married man or woman someday. He might as well get his first experience in cheating over with.

"Hey, Keller!" A voice called to him cheerfully, breaking Kevin out of his own pitiful self-justification. Moose was approaching him with a smile, his hair still damp from showering after football practice. "Need a ride?"

He had to smile at that—one of the reasons he'd always liked Moose was his generosity.

"That's about the idea," Kevin drawled as Moose walked up to him. He reached out and laid a hand on Moose's shoulder, drawing him closer as he directed his glamour at him. When he inhaled, he could smell Moose's pine-scented body wash. "I have desperate, desperate need."

He locked gazes with Moose, whose eyes clouded with lust as he stared at Kevin.

"Right," he said, licking his lips as if his mouth was suddenly dry. He visibly swallowed. "Right," he repeated.

"Terrific." Kevin smiled at him, ignoring the growing guilt in his stomach. "We can go to my place. My dad won't be home until late." He plucked the keys out of Moose's hands. "I'll drive."

Sex with Moose was fantastic, even accompanied by his growing guilt. There was an enormous amount of energy for Kevin to feed off of, and the more enthusiastic Moose got, the more there was to take. Kevin was alarmed to find himself unable or unwilling to stop the feeding, even when he knew he should, because of how welcome it felt, how revitalizing the process was.

When he finally managed to separate himself from Moose, he was gasping for breath and unable to speak.

At the sight of him, Moose broke out of his spell immediately. "Oh, dammit, are you okay? I'm sorry I was that rough with you. I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened to me . . ."

Kevin managed to find his voice. "It's fine. I'm okay. I guess I just wasn't expecting the, um, intensity of it."

He tried to grin, but Moose just looked at him with a worried frown, combing his fingers through his own hair.

"Look, this was a mistake," he said finally. "I shouldn't have done any of that to you, and I—" he shook his head. "Midge. I can't believe I did this to her." He rose from the bed and began gathering his clothes. "Kevin, this is never going to happen again, and I need you to keep it a secret that it happened at all." He sighed. "Oh, God. Why the hell did I do any of this?"

Seeing Moose's instant regret, Kevin could not help but feel the same way. Why had he thought feeding off of Moose would be a good idea? The action had served to do nothing but destroy the friendship they'd once had.

It was about sustenance, Kevin reminded himself. Sex was literally something he needed.

And because he needed it, he couldn't help but feel like the act was empty. He could use his influence to get whatever he wanted, get with whoever he wanted, but there was no meaning behind. No one was acting on genuine affection; they were responding to surface attraction in addition to his own manipulations.

He'd tried to ignore it. He'd wanted to pretend that Moose had chosen him, valued him over Midge.

But now, as Kevin watched Moose hurriedly grabbing and pulling on his clothes, he knew that Moose had already chosen Midge over him and always would.