Lesson 111- If it’s yucky, just take a bite and do your best. You never know, it might not be as bad as you think.

The rest of the evening passes quickly and Torin sends me to bed early, determined to do the clean up himself. I would argue, but I’m super tired. I might not be sick anymore but it definitely took a lot out of me. So I stumble off to bed. I wake up just in time to shower and get ready for my next shift. Even after my shower, I’m still kind of drowsy. I don’t feel unwell anymore, just a little bit flat. I’m working with Catcher tonight and he’s already been here for a while, has set up AND Torin has opened the bar. Still yawning, I head behind the bar to help out. It’s not too busy, but the vampires are here and they still insist on sending all their tips to me, even if I’m not working. So I figure I’ll take care of them. I’m definitely still drowsy, so it’s not much of a surprise when I drop a glass and it shatters on the floor.
“Oh shit. Catch, be careful over here, there’s broken glass, I’ll clean it up!” I call out in warning. Catcher gives me a thumbs up to acknowledge that he heard me, then gets back to work. Luckily the glass only broke into like five pieces, so I can probably just pick up the pieces. I carefully grab them and place them on the edge of the bar. I plan to pull Jane’s trap door open and drop them down there for her. It’s a solid plan, or it would be if I wasn’t super tired and dropping things. I fumble with broken glass too and without thinking I automatically go to try and catch it. I actually succeed, but I grab it just a little bit too tight and feel a sharp pain on my pointer finger.
“Ow!” I drop the glass on the bar, glaring at it. Ugh, that was super stupid of me. A glance at my hand tells me my finger is bleeding, not badly, just a tiny bit. I sigh and start searching under the bar for the first aid kit. I quickly put a bandaid over it and then go back to cleaning. Except… The piece of glass I cut myself on is gone.
“Huh?” I look around for it dumbly only to spot Bastian holding it. The vampire is staring at the tiny spot of blood on it analytically.
“Uh… Bastian?” I question. He narrows his eyes and then without pausing, lifts the glass to his mouth and licks it. I gag.
“Ewww, dude why would you do that?” I ask, seriously grossed out. To my shock Isaiah nods in agreement.
“Yeah Bastian, that was on the floor. It’s probably dirty.” He complains. Okay, so that’s not quite where I was going with that, but I suppose they ARE vampires. They don’t think tasting blood is gross. Still, I can’t help but shudder.
“I don’t want to sound judgey or anything, but maybe don’t lick my blood off of stuff? It makes me a little uncomfortable. Or at least ASK next time.” I say sternly. Torin didn’t see him lick the blood obviously, but he must have overheard my lecture because he stands up and starts to approach. He looks kind of pissed. I continue to stare the vampire down. Bastian sighs and nods.
“Right, my bad. I apologise. But you don’t need to worry about me doing it again.” He shudders in disgust.
“Your blood is awful. Seriously, what is wrong with you? Get some sunlight, put more iron in your diet or something. I know you were unwell but your blood is nasty. You should take better care of yourself.” He lectures. I stand there, kind of speechless. Am I getting a lecture on healthy lifestyles from a guy who sleeps all day and seems to consume nothing but blood and alcohol mixed with iron tonic?

I’m weirdly offended.
“There is nothing wrong with my blood! You’re just picky.” I sniff, slightly insulted for reasons I don’t quite understand. It’s not MY fault I don’t get any sun. I’ve been stuck indoors for over a month AND I’m working nights.
“Just face it, your blood is gross.” Bastian argues, a cheeky grin on his face. He’s clearly just messing with me. I fake pout and turn to Torin who is now hovering nearby. He’s realised I’m not actually upset about anything and is clearly looking for a chance to join in the conversation.
“Tori, tell them there’s nothing wrong with my blood. I’m totally normal.” I whine. Torin doesn’t answer right away. To my absolute shock, he steps in close to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder.
“There’s nothing wrong with your blood. You’re perfect just the way you are.” He says with a completely straight face. Then I swear I nearly pass out from surprise when he leans down and presses a kiss to my hair. I’m not the only one who is confused. The vampires are gaping, Catcher has just tipped about six shots worth of booze into one glass because he’s staring and you could probably hear a pin drop in the room. My brain basically stalls and I just stand there brainlessly, not reacting at all. After a moment, Torin lets go and steps back and my brain comes back online. What just happened? The entire bar is freaking out, I can tell. They might be used to Torin and I being friendly and hanging out. But this was different, this was him being downright affectionate and dare I say flirtatious? I thought I was the one messing with him like that! Has he just pulled an Uno reverse card on me and turned my own method of teasing him against me? That’s totally unfair.

Torin wanders back to his seat and I think the vampires might be broken, because they’re still standing, mouths agape, flashing their fangs everywhere. Steph the valkyrie approaches the bar, her feathered wings twitching a little behind her.
“Hey there human.” She says with a smile. I wave in greeting. Some of the customers still use human as an insult, but most of them seem nearly affectionate in the way they say it now. Like it’s some cute nickname as opposed to my actual species.
“Hey, did you want another drink?” I offer. Steph nods and I get her usual ready for her. I expect her to return to her seat once she has her drink but she lingers by the bar.
“So, what’s going on between you and him?” She gestures at Torin and I pause, really not sure what to answer.
“We’re friends?” I respond, but it sounds like a question, even to me. It might actually BE a question. I’m really not sure what’s going on with our relationship. It’s kind of stuck. He’s not ready to let me go, and I’m not ready to give up on him yet.
“Right… But HE doesn’t seem to realise that. So are you guys like, kind of together? Or is he being affectionate in a more platonic way, like you would with a pet?” She questions. I glance towards Crash where he’s lounging in his little hammock.
“A pet? Are you seriously asking if he treats me like a pet? You’ve seen him with our actual pet, right? He DOTES on him. He’s not nearly so bad with me.” I joke. Steph just raises an eyebrow and gives me a look that I’m fairly sure is implying that I’m lying to her. Or maybe to myself. Either way, I don’t think she agrees with my assessment of the situation. I’m suddenly a lot less interested in hearing all the gossip around the bar, and a lot more interested in convincing Torin to be honest and tell me what he REALLY thinks about me. I’m determined, when the bar closes today, I’m going to pull him aside and push the issue. I didn’t want to scare him off before, but if we’ve moved on to PDA then I’m fairly sure it’s fair for me to be a little more pushy and just hope for the best.