Well well well, it continues. The hyperfixation is still strong, which is why we're getting another chapter. Sorry this took so long, I was also focused on setting up a full plot and layout for this thing. There's gonna be fifteen chapters and an epilogue. All I need now is the motivation to write this whole thing.

I'm also tired as hell right now, so I apologize for any errors or anything OOC. Also, I noticed we never really got to see much of Griffin's serious side, so I had fun getting to play around with that.

"WHAT?!" Crystal and Cordelia shouted in unison.

"You're, like, pulling our legs!" Crystal added.

"I would never! Not about something as major as this!" Griffin insisted.

"You literally pretended to have a fake girlfriend before you, like, even met me," Crystal deadpanned, recalling how Murray told the story. He was laughing so hard he was crying, while Griffin had removed his glasses to hide his humiliated expression.

"Not to mention you and Crystal are still technically fake dating," Cordelia added in.

Griffin awkwardly laughed at the reminder of Emily, the charade he kept up for about five years. Cordelia also raised a good point. "Well ... I wouldn't fake something as serious as this with you," he corrected himself. "You know how long I've been wanting this." His tone was sincere and his lenses were shining with fresh adoration.

"Oh. My. Satan. Sit down and tell us everything!" Crystal demanded, smiling broadly now. She led him over to the bed and the three of them took a seat on it. "Who is it, who's the lucky guy?!"

"I ... don't know, actually," Griffin sheepishly admitted.

Crystal and Cordelia's jaws dropped. "How do you not know? You zinged with him, right?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, yes, but from a distance. I saw him walk into the hotel and it was like time slowed down for a moment. I saw the sparkles that everyone talks about. All I could think about was how amazing he looks! He mostly looks human, but he has all these birdy features like markings and wings. They're so beautiful! Oh! And he had this stoic expression, it was so hard to tell what he was thinking, but it looked cool!" Griffin explained, his lenses lighting up with excitement. The light faded a bit and his lenses curved downward in shame when he continued. "But then he started heading in our direction. It was all so sudden, I just ... I panicked and ran before he could see me. The guys are probably downstairs wondering what the heck just happened. I mean, I excused myself by saying I had something to take care of, but I don't know if they bought it," he finished, looking down at his lap.

"You ran away from a potential romantic situation?" Cordelia asked.

"Mr. Hopeless Romantic?" Crystal added.

"This is different!" Griffin explained. "Sure, I faked having a girlfriend and I'm fake dating you and I'm pretty smooth with that. And sure, I've jokingly flirted with my friends in the past, but this is ... real. What if I'm not as smooth as I've made myself out to be? Besides, I was also with my friends! I'm so lucky none of them noticed me zinging!"

"I don't think I've, like, ever seen you this nervous about yourself," Crystal noted.

"Johnny was right, the zing does make you do crazy things," Griffin mumbled. "Why am I so self-conscious all of a sudden? Is this normal?"

"It's just nerves," Cordelia assured. "When I first zinged with Crystal, it was one of the most exciting moments of my life. But it was also one of the scariest. Then I started talking to her and getting to know her and realized I had nothing to be scared of."

"Yeah!" Crystal chimed in. "A zing never lies. It always, like, knows who your soulmate is. If you're, like, meant to be with this mystery bird-man, then you're meant to be with that bird-man! Just be yourself and let the zing do its thing."

"You're right," Griffin said, taking a small breath. "You're right!" he repeated, more confidently this time. "This will be easy! I can talk to him, not a problem!"

"There's the Griffin I know!" Crystal encouraged. "You'll see. Start talking to him the way you normally do. You could even, like, throw in one of those flirty comments of yours. Once you open your mouth, you'll realize it's, like, no different than faking it."

"Think of it like those pre-performance jitters! It'll be like that," Cordelia explained.

They both had good points. The only other times Griffin got nervous like this, even though it was only a little, was whenever he was about to set foot on stage and sit at a drum set. But every time, without fail, when he hit that first beat, the nerves always vanished and were replaced with confidence and joy, savoring every hit of the drumsticks. Maybe the ladies were right. Maybe this will be just like that. "Okay! I can do this! Just gotta find him!" Griffin declared, standing up.

"Heck yeah! Go get your man!" Crystal cheered.

Griffin went to the door and opened it, ready to go downstairs and find his new soulmate.

He did not expect to see him the second he stepped into the hall.

The winged man was on the other side of Griffin's own room, turning a key in the lock.

"Wah!" Griffin gasped in shock. As soon as he realized he did it, he knew he needed to act fast. Quickly, he pressed a hand over his mouth to keep himself from making other sounds. His other hand snatched his glasses off his face and stuffed them in the breast pocket of his button up shirt, covered by his vest, making them invisible.

The stranger's brow furrowed at the sound. He turned his head to see what could have caused it, but didn't see anything. His eyes narrowed, focusing intently on the hall next to him, but he saw nothing. His brow furrowed more in further confusion, but then he shrugged and went back to working on the lock.

Griffin let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. He pulled his glasses out from behind his vest, making them visible again, and put them back on. Okay, Griffin, get it together. Start with a nice, simple introduction, then make a move. Taking an extra calming breath for extra insurance, Griffin walked up to the bird-man.

"Well, hey there, neighbor! Can't say I've seen you around here before," Griffin called out, walking up to him.

The other man flinched a little, but it was barely noticeable. His head snapped up and his golden eyes immediately locked with the lenses of what appeared to be a pair of floating glasses. A familiar flash of pink sparkles darted across his eyes before vanishing again. As soon as the sparkles disappeared, the man blinked in bewilderment. The feathers of his wings fluffed up and a faint blush sprawled across his cheeks.

Yes! The zing is mutual! Griffin thought in triumph. And his wings puff up when he's flustered? That's cute! He morphed his glasses into a flirty smirk. "I'm not gonna lie, though. I wish I got to see you sooner because you are quite easy on the eyes. Ya got a striking name to match your fiery looks?" Nailed it!

The man blinked again in an attempt to shake away his blush. "It's Cyrus," he replied, clearly trying his best to sound nonchalant.

"Cyrus," Griffin repeated. "It suits you well. Mine's Griffin. Dr. Jack Griffin, if you wanna be more specific, but I just go by Griffin. Pleasure to meet you." He stuck out his hand for a handshake.

"Uh huh," Cyrus warily replied. He managed to pull himself together and his blush faded. His feathers had also smoothed out. His flustered expression was replaced by the blank, impassive appearance he had on when he first walked in.

"Oh, I'm offering a handshake, by the way," Griffin added.

"Appreciate the gesture, but I think I'm good," Cyrus replied, his tone now cautious. He folded his arms over his chest in such a way that hid his hands.

"Ah, my apologies," Griffin said, putting his hand down. Not fond of physical touch, huh? I guess that's understandable.

"Were you the one that made that sound just now?" Cyrus asked after pulling his hand away, and he quizzically raised a brow.

Great. Griffin sarcastically thought. "... Noooo, what gave you that idea?"

"I could hear the ruffle of what I think was clothing after the sound was made," Cyrus explained. "There was also a slight clink of plastic. Your glasses, would be my guess."

And he has a sharp sense of hearing? He and Wayne will probably get along well. "Ha ha ... yeah, you got me," Griffin admitted. "I wasn't expecting to see you the second I walked out of my friend's room."

"What exactly are you?" Cyrus questioned, tilting his head a bit.

"An Invisible Man," Griffin replied proudly. "I'm a chemist, you see, and an experiment went wrong. It resulted in me turning invisible at least to others. I can see myself just fine. It also stopped my aging process, so I'm practically immortal."

"So ... you're a human? That can't be seen?" Cyrus concluded. His expression grew more wary, but Griffin didn't seem to notice. He was now more focused on the question that struck a nerve.

Usually when he met a new monster, they viewed Griffin as one of them. This was the first time someone jumped to the conclusion that he was just another human that happened to have a weird quirk. If there was one thing Griffin despised, it was being seen as a lesser monster, or even not a monster at all. He wanted to let Cyrus know this, but he also didn't want to come off as angry. Surely they could talk this out, right? "I prefer to consider myself as much of a monster as anyone here, thank you very much," Griffin replied, his tone now more passive aggressive than he would have liked. But his statement now raised a question. "And what about you? You appear to be fairly human yourself."

"I am nothing like them!" Cyrus fired back, now visibly angry. "I'm aware of my looks, but don't compare me to them again! Understood?!"

Griffin was taken aback by the sudden sharp tone. He couldn't help but flinch a little. What is his deal?! He took more offense than I did! "Understood. But only if you return the favor."

"Very well," Cyrus said, visibly calming down a bit.

Okay, that was a rocky start. How did it go wrong so quickly? Griffin thought to himself. At least he's not as pissed now. Maybe I can still turn this around and get to know him a little better. I have to make sure this ends on a high note.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get settled in," Cyrus said, gesturing to his room.

"Oh! Right. Of course," Griffin said, feeling a slight pang of disappointment. "I guess I'll see you around, then?"

Cyrus hesitated before turning back towards the lock. "Yeah," he mumbled quietly, but Griffin still heard him.

Before Griffin could say anything else, Cyrus went into his room and quickly shut the door behind them. Griffin could only stand there and stare at it, processing what just happened.

The silence was quickly broken. "That was pretty painful to listen to."

Griffin glared at the shrunken head dangling from Cyrus' door knob. "Oh, shut it! The last thing I need is to be berated by you!" Before he could give the head a chance to respond, he spun on his heel and marched right back to Cordelia's room. He knocked before getting let in.

"That was quick," Crystal commented as Griffin walked through the door.

"I wasn't expecting him to be right next door to our room," Griffin explained.

"WHAT?!" Crystal and Cordelia gasped. They sat down on the edge of the bed, like a pair of children waiting to hear a story.

"Yeah, did you not hear us talking?" Griffin asked, raising a brow. He thought for sure they would have at least heard Cyrus snap at him.

"No, we were wrapped up in our own conversation," Cordelia explained.

"So, like, how'd it go?" Crystal asked, beaming with excited curiosity.

"Not exactly the way I hoped," Griffin replied, taking a seat in a nearby chair.

"Woah, what happened?" Crystal asked, immediately getting the sense that something was wrong.

Griffin proceeded to explain how the conversation went. He started with how he got startled by the realization that Cyrus was their new neighbor and how he hid himself. Then he explained how they introduced themselves and how the conversation unraveled from there. He also made sure to bring up Cyrus' cautious expression that almost never changed, except for when he briefly got flustered and, of course, when he got mad about the human comment.

"Wow," Crystal said when he finished.

"I know," Griffin said. "I guess I made a mistake retaliating like that, but I was actually kinda curious. I've never seen anyone like him before."

"And you're, like, sure the zing is mutual?" Crystal questioned, looking for affirmation. An unrequited zing is unheard of, but that didn't mean it was impossible.

"Positive! I know a gleam of pink sparkles when I see one. He definitely zinged back," Griffin confirmed.

Cordelia shrugged. "Sometimes it takes a bit for a zing to take full effect."

"Yeah. You, like, remember what happened with Drac and Ericka, right?" Crystal said.

"Of course I do, I helped him try to make a move on her," Griffin replied. He chuckled as he remembered Drac's panicked string of nonsense that Ericka somehow understood. "Keyword 'try.'"

"My point is you should probably, like, give it a bit, or maybe even a while. See if you can, like, have another conversation with him and see if you can make a better impression," Crystal explained.

"But remember not to force it," Cordelia reminded him. "Sometimes these things take time. Don't worry, though. You'll know when the time comes for you two to officially get together."

"I hope so," Griffin said. He looked over at the clock on the wall. "Anyway," he started as he stood up. "It's getting to be about dinner time. Wanna head downstairs and grab some grub?"

"Oh, yeah! I'm, like, so hungry!" Crystal agreed, jumping to her feet.

Cordelia got up as well. "I could definitely use something to eat," she agreed.

The three of them walked back downstairs and towards the dining hall. Crystal and Cordelia were idly chatting, but Griffin wasn't listening. He was still thinking about his interaction with Cyrus. He was trying to come off as emotionless, but his cautiousness was still shining through. He didn't seem to want to engage in small talk for long, and he didn't want to shake hands. He even hid them for extra insurance. And the whole human situation... He thought about all the signs and realized he was familiar with each one. He's seen them in other monsters and even he himself went through a phase like that. But he hasn't seen that kind of behavior in a few centuries. Still, there was only one thing that could get a monster to act like that. Griffin's face scrunched a little in an anger he hasn't felt in years. What did the humans do to you, Cyrus?

His thought process came to a halt when the trio arrived at the dining hall. Several monsters were already there, loading their plates and finding places to sit. The Drac Park was already seated at a table, saving three empty chairs for them.

"There they are!" Murray announced to the rest of the group. Everyone else chimed in with their own greetings.

"We'll be with you in a sec," Griffin assured. "We just gotta grab some dinner first."

It didn't take long for the three of them to grab some food before settling in with the group. Everyone was eating and chatting happily, with the exception of Mavis and Johnny having to remind Dennis not to play with his food every now and then.

Griffin was only half listening and he kept poking at his piranha. Drac, who was seated next to the invisible man, took notice of this. "Is something troubling you, my friend?"

"Huh?" Griffin asked, seemingly snapping out of a trance. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine." He stabbed a bite of his meal with his fork before stuffing it into his mouth, causing it to disappear.

Everyone looked at him, not fully convinced. Crystal and Cordelia looked at each other, having a hunch as to what this was about.

Griffin looked up at the looks he was getting and sighed. "Okay, there is something on my mind," he admitted, turning to Drac. "What can you tell me about that new guy? The one you roomed right next door to me?"

"What do you want to know?" Drac asked, his curiosity peaking.

"Anything. So far, I only know his name is Cyrus and an idea of what his personality is like," Griffin explained. "He doesn't seem very social."

Drac nodded. "Yes, that would be accurate. When he first came in, he got right to the point and said he just wanted a quiet room and plenty of alone time so he could unwind."

"Is he the reason you took off like that?" Murray asked.

Griffin sputtered a bit at the question. He debated saying no, but he knew they wouldn't buy it. "M-Maybe?" He managed to get out.

"I don't blame you," Ericka chimed in before Murray could respond. Her face fell as she recalled something that happened earlier. "When he walked past me, he looked directly at me with wide eyes. Admittedly, it was a little intimidating. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but I just got this feeling that it wasn't good. There was this look in his eyes that wasn't like anything I've seen before."

"He didn't say anything?" Griffin asked, intrigued.

Ericka shook her head. "No. He just started walking faster and hurried off."

"It might be because you're a human," Griffin suggested. "He ... doesn't seem to like them much."

"That is understandable," Drac said, looking deep in thought. "There are some monsters that still don't fully trust humans."

"Maybe we should work our magic and prove to him that we get along now," Johnny suggested. "Otherwise, his time here might be hard."

"I don't think it's gonna be that easy," Griffin said, grimly. "He was even suspicious of me just because I'm-" He cut himself off, unable to bring himself to say it. "... you know."

The others were taken aback by this. This was the first time they've heard of another monster being suspicious of Griffin just because of his origin.

"No way!" Murray said, unable to believe it.

"It's true," Crystal confirmed. "He, like, told Cordelia and I about it earlier."

"How does he know? He can't even see you!" Wayne asked.

"I told him," Griffin simply said. "I also asked about him since he also appears to be mostly human."

"And he didn't take it well?" Mavis asked.

Griffin shook his head. "He didn't even say what exactly he is. I'm pretty sure something happened between him and humanity," he said firmly. "Not entirely sure what, but something about this case feels different. I think it's best we just be careful with him."

The others nodded in agreement.

~o.O.o~

Upstairs, Cyrus anxiously paced back and forth in his room, his mind was racing. Not even a full day here, and he could already feel himself freaking out. I came here to get away from those vile creatures, and yet there are some here! Not many, but just enough. I suppose it's better than nothing. The place is big enough to avoid them. Although, it's definitely going to be hard to avoid the one literally right next door to me. Argh, that's right, he said not to refer to him as one of them!

He flopped backwards and landed on the bed, completely sprawling out his arms, legs, and wings. He stared at the ceiling, continuing to think. I can't even get Glasses out of my head. What did he say his name was? Griffin? I think that's what it is. Why can't I stop thinking about him? And what was up with those sparkles?! I didn't actually...

He'd heard the stories of zings, but he thought they were only a myth. Just some story they tell little kids. He didn't think it would actually be real. Then again, he hasn't hung out with many monsters to know for sure, but he still knew enough to at least know how they worked.

I didn't come here looking for love. It's too dangerous. I especially didn't come here looking to fall in love with someone of the likes of him.

Although, to be fair, he also seems to not like being associated with them, like me. There's something about him that's different from any other monster or human I've ever met. Maybe he'll understand- no. That type of thinking isn't safe. I should know that by now. Getting close to him is too risky.

Cyrus inwardly sighed and shifted in his bed. He folded his wings up and rolled onto his side. What have I gotten myself into? He thought to himself before drifting off to sleep.

And that concludes chapter 2. I feel pretty happy with Cyrus' introduction. I hope you guys like him. More is going to be revealed about him in time and I can't wait to share that.

Comments, feedback, and votes are appreciated!