A young vampire sat in the back corner of the class, alone, with an empty seat beside him. No one ever filled that seat; all his classmates thought he was a bit weird. He always kept to himself, always hiding his face in books, always spending his break in the library.

It was the first class of the day; the teacher hadn’t started it yet. Lots of chatter filled the classroom. The vampire tried to ignore it as he read yet another book from the school library.

“Oh, there you are!” the teacher said to someone. “Had trouble finding your way around?”

“Sorry,” the new person said quite softly, but still audible. The entire class had gone silent at his entrance.

Even from that one word, the vampire could tell he wasn’t from here. He looked up from the page. A guy stood there with a backpack, the teacher beside him. He was nearly a head taller than her, so the height difference between him and the vampire must be even worse.

The vampire returned his attention to the book, not listening to the teacher’s introduction of the new student.

“Take a seat in that empty chair over there,” the teacher told the new guy.

The vampire was slightly startled when the guy sat next to him. Oh, of course that was the only empty seat in the whole class. Ugh. The new guy gave him a nervous smile. The vampire only spared him a glance; he wasn’t interested in making small talk with someone he’ll most likely never talk to again. He’ll find someone else to sit with the next class.

The teacher started the class. The vampire begrudgingly put his book away and grabbed his geography textbook instead, along with his notebook and pen.

The guy next to him laid his own notebook on the desk. The vampire noticed him looking at him again from the corner of his eye. He glanced back at him, more obviously this time to ask what he wanted.

“Can I read along with you?” he whispered. “I don’t have my textbooks yet.”

The vampire pushed the book to the middle of their desk.

Another smile. “Thanks.”

The teacher went on about the climate of the continent. The north was cold, the south warm, both lush in their own way. East and west something in between, but the west milder because it had a coast like the south. The east was landlocked like the north—aside from some lakes and rivers—making both winters and summers more extreme.

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The teacher instructed them to begin their work, many had quiet conversations again. The vampire and the stranger next to him were silent for the first few minutes, until the guy asked, “What’s your name?”

The vampire supposed some introductions would be basic decency. It wouldn’t hurt for at least one of his classmates to know his name, if he’d remember it. “Thomas. You?”

The guy was a bit confused. “Didn’t you hear the teacher introduce me?”

“I didn’t listen.”

The guy quietly chuckled. “Barry. I moved here from the west a few days ago.”

The vampire only gave him an acknowledging hum.

The guy continued trying to start a conversation throughout the hour, but the vampire only brushed him off or shrugged or hummed.

They had a fifteen minute break before the next class began. The vampire packed his things and headed to his usual spot. Officially, students weren’t allowed to have their break in the library. The vampire was an exception. They knew he was careful with the books and preferred to be in a quiet place, away from his chatty classmates.

Shortly after he left the classroom, he heard, “Hey!”

He flinched and turned around to see the new guy had followed him.

“Can I join you?”

The vampire was a bit stunned at first. He then shrugged. “You can do what you want, I don’t own the library.”

“You have your break in the library?”

He nodded and moved to leave. Of course he thought it was weird, everyone did. But, to his surprise, he found the new guy following him again, even walking beside him. God, the top of the vampire’s head barely reached his chin.

“The library must be the perfect place to hang out for a bookworm,” the guy tried to be playful. The vampire only gave him the tiniest smile back.

The vampire sat at a table while he read his book and drank a snack; a can of artificial blood. The new guy sat beside him, eating some cookies.

They’d been quiet again. The vampire didn’t get why he followed him. Was this how he wanted to spend his break time? Sitting in silence next to someone who didn’t want to talk?

The vampire decided to ask, “Why did you follow me?”

The guy shrugged while he chewed away his bite, then swallowed. “I don’t know. I like your quiet, relaxed energy. And I’m alone, as are you, so why not?”

“I’ve been brushing you off this whole time. Why not try to befriend someone else?”

The guy placed his elbows on the table and rubbed his neck. “Because I’m an outsider here. I’m not northern, I sound different, I’m taller, I’m new. I’d much rather befriend someone who seems to be an outsider too, than try to join an existing friend group who might have ulterior motives for ‘befriending’ me.”

The vampire hummed. “Sounds like that happened to you before.”

The guy nodded. “I’ve gone through a complete class change before, when I was held back a year. I tried to join a friend group back then, didn’t go well. And that’s another reason why I’m different; I’m older than everyone.”

“Well, I’m the youngest and the smallest.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirteen.”

“I’m fifteen.” The guy snickered. “We seem like quite the dynamic duo; youngest-shortest, oldest-tallest.” He was tense suddenly. “You don’t have to be friends with me, if you’d rather keep to yourself. You must be alone for a reason. I don’t wanna annoy you.”

The vampire thought about it. He wasn’t open to the idea of letting him stick around at first, not wanting to let him close. But the thought of having someone to sit with and talk to was quite nice. He realised he didn’t want him to go away.

The vampire shyly smiled a little. “I’d like to have a friend.”

His new friend gave him a big smile back.