-Where are you going?- Steph asked. She was making dinner.
-Bar.
-Just don't get drunk.
-Why? Will you get mad?- Rissa fake-pouted.
-No, just asking you to save me the trouble of explaining people your messages.
-Don't worry, I'm not getting drunk. Just karaoke.
-Okay, just don't break the mic with your jawline!
To be fair, there was nothing wrong with Marissa's jawline. Except that it existed. Don't get this the wrong way, it looked really good, actually, almost identical to their father's, but it has since she was a baby, and these jokes became a habit.
Rissa opened the door to leave and…
-Vik? What are you doing here?- Rissa asked, surprised to see him.
-I came to see you. Thought you'd be happy. You can insult me to my face.
-I am happy. Did Matt really not mind?
-I may have lied to him.
-What did you say?
-That Damon needed me to bring something to you.
-He's gonna murder you!- she laughed.
-Oh, come on, my dad would never!
-Not your dad, mine!
-Okay, fair point. Hey, Steph!
-Hey, Vik! Are you staying for dinner?
-Sure!
-Wait,- Rissa asked. -How long are you staying?
-I don't know, how long would it take for me to get 20 leather jackets from Virginia to NYC?
-20 leather jackets?
-Yeah, Mom asked what Damon needed to bring to you and I panicked.
-Good job, Dad's gonna double-murder you.
-Is that possible?
-Totally, ask Uncle Ric.- Vik laughed. He really missed Rissa.
He wanted to tell her what that feeling he talked about earlier was. That it had nothing to do with freedom and everything to do with her. That the thing he saw differently was her. That he saw her as more than just his best friend. That he didn't want to be free. That he wanted to be with her. That she was the prettiest girl he's ever met. That he wanted to kiss her right now.
But he didn't. Couldn't. Shouldn't. It was hard to find the right word. He knew for a fact that he didn't, but, while he knew he could, he felt like he could not. He didn't have even the faintest idea about whether he should…
If Rissa could hear his thoughts right now, she'd call him a drama queen. He wanted to call himself a drama queen at the moment. He was staring at this beautiful girl, but instead of saying something, he was inspecting her eyes. Yep, he was a drama queen. But was that that bad? A solid maybe.
Dinner was ready. They all sat down to eat. The first couple of seconds were silent. Then Rissa stood up to grab a blood bag:
-Why the awkward silence?
Steph smiled and shrugged:
-I don't know. What do we usually talk about when we are eating?
-Last time we ate together we had a pleasant discussion, didn't we?- Rissa smirked.
-Great, we're back to that.
-What? I said it was pleasant.- she grinned. Steph smiled and shook her head. She knew that, this time, these were jokes.
-Okay, I finished.
-Who's surprised?- Vik asked and smiled at her. Rissa rolled her eyes and took a sip from her blood bag.
-Wow. So weird.
-What?
-The blood bag. Really not used to this.
-Well, this is the way it's gonna be for the next eternity, so deal with it.
And just like that, he was back to inspecting her eyes. Definitely a drama queen.