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Milan narrowed his eyes when Echo practically hissed his name. At this point, he was about to give up. She very clearly didn't care anymore, so why should he? It was then that her words cut sharp into his very heart. The taller boy stumbled back a bit, eyes widening in the immediate hurt of Echo's words. How could she say that? How could the person he trusted the most stab a knife into him and twist it. She didn't even sound bothered over the words, not recoiling or anything at all. She didn't even seem to care.

Does she even care? I wasn't purposely ignoring her. I was in mourning! I had just lost my best friend. The person I hoped to have in my life forever... either as a brother or... no, Milan, don't follow that train of thought. Please, please don't follow the train back into the dark. He tried to plead with himself, because the urges of last year were creeping back into his brain. The vivid nightmares flashed in his brain, tormenting him in every way. Even last year... even then Echo seemed to avoid him, too focused on Syd and her own vices... not to mention the eternal struggle of keeping their younger sister from actively trying to end her own life.

Even then, those were just excuses. She couldn't be bothered to give a damn about you. You've been the odd one out forever. No wonder she's choosing Syd over you. He's not even that bad. You're just a horrible, garbage person. Because you can't have love, no one else can? And what happens when the others fall in love again? Not like anyone loves you, Milan. Literally no one gives a s**t whether you live or die. Your roommates certainly wouldn't fight to keep you alive. And why should they? You're useless and everyone, even your sisters know it.

Blue eyes squeezed closed a minute, trying to level his breathing to prevent any sort of tears. He couldn't fail now. If he did... what was all of this for? Why the hell are you fighting so hard to keep your sisters close when it was evident she doesn't give two shits about you? No one does. Maybe you should've just kept your EpiPen to yourself. It would've been a tragic accident... no one would blame you. You wouldn't be at fault... no more nightmares. No more dark clouds in your head.

It was then that Echo spoke again, earning a side-eye from her brother, before he looked over at Syd. "Honestly. That's the first smart thing I've heard you say, Barrett." That wasn't even true. He'd heard many good bits from Syd. Hell, that's why he'd chosen him as Vice Captain in Quidditch. He seemed nice to everyone... but something about him being with Echo... maybe wasn't even his fault. Echo just... so casually dismissed the idea of love. Reduced it to the barest physical components. What Milan wouldn't do for even one person to be interested in him. (well. one age-appropriate person.) Literally no one that knew him truly liked him.

And just like that, his downward spiral was halted. Echo was telling Syd he had to do this... Wait... why?

I’m pregnant.”

Milan's bag dropped to the ground, jacket laying in a crumpled heap as he looked at his sister. The entire world seemed to pause with bated breath as the words settled. She'd missed a period... gained weight (though not enough to be noticeable, at least in this outfit)... it had to be Syd's. A blink, followed by a heavy breath. Well. He supposed Syd was tied to their family forever, then. There you go, Milan. She'll never prioritize you again. You literally mean nothing to her now. Syd wins. Now and forever. And no one will ever want you, a bitter, washed-up rich boy with no sense of family. You've always been on the way out, sorting proved it. You don't belong and never will.

A deep breath, tears forming at the edges of his eyes, barely hidden behind thick lenses. Echo moved to rest her hand on her belly, as if to highlight the child she was now growing. The dark thoughts were overtaking, and Milan didn't have the energy to fight off the negative feelings. Somewhere in his mind, escape plans formed. What the hell was he supposed to say in this situation? What was he supposed to do? And most curiously... would they both slip back into their terrible habits? Would the next Wellbelove to fall indeed be him? Yari had been saved. As had he, only days ago.. but now...

now he wasn't sure if he wanted to be saved.

"Congrats... I guess." The words were bitter as they left, like he was spitting acid. As if to prove a point, a curl of bile came up into his throat, a painful reminder of last year. The parts no one saw. Everyone knew he'd given up, he'd taken potions just to keep himself functional, if only as a zombie. And now he just had to deal with everything. What was going to happen next? A shotgun wedding? A life where he'd never get to see his sister without Syd and a child? He bowed his head a bit, messy brown hair falling into his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to down a dreamless sleep potion and just. Stop thinking for a while... no. He wanted a Draught of Living Death.... and then maybe never an antidote. After all... it seemed the only thing impeding Echo's happiness was his stupid, useless self. Would not this be the best possible gift for her?

After that terribly frustrating game of Quidditch, Hesperia was in such a rage that she wasn't thinking very clearly at all. In fact, she practically had no control at all. Last year, she had been angry after a game and had fractured her own wrist in that anger, but this was totally different. Her skin had paled significantly, her fangs were prominently protruding from her mouth, and her eyes had become blood red. Her features reflected her vampiric side and if she'd caught sight of herself in a reflective surface, she would look exactly like the monster she feared in herself. Thankfully for her, her feet carried her to a hallway without anything to reflect who she was currently. Her quick strides were enhanced by her semi-transformation and she'd sped away from the Quidditch pitch. After walking for a while to get away from people, she finally let herself feel her anger again. Dropping her broom on the floor, Hesperia screamed, her voice echoing off the walls and reverberating down the hallway. Looking around angrily, the teen toppled a suit of armor and then forcefully kicked the helmet a decent ways down the hall from the dismantled armor. But her rage just continued to bubble, her vampiric nature wanting more. Her internal monster wasn't satisfied by some minor destruction. She wanted... no needed, blood. It was a miracle that no other living being was in the hallway with her, or she might not be able to control the monster inside her. After destroying the armor, Hesperia wheeled around and spotted a display case. Stepping over to it, she punched a the display case, shattering the glass and causing several cuts on her hand.

The pain from the glass didn't even register to her. Her blood was coursing with endorphins, nullifying the pain. Blood being to seep out of the wounds and the smell wound its way up to her nostrils. The smell of blood, even her own, triggered something in her brain. She looked at her hand for a moment, breathing heavily. Then without thinking, she sunk her fangs into her own arm, her teeth easily penetrating her skin. A metallic taste sprung into her mouth, the taste of her own blood pouring into her mouth. Her vampiric side much preferred the taste of the fresh blood to the blood lollipops that she indulged it with. All she could focus on now was the taste and that it was soothing her anger. The vampire hungrily drank her own blood, suckling at the wound, before sinking to the floor with her arm still in her mouth. Her blood dribbled down from her mouth, leaving trails down her chin from the corners of her lips. A little whine escaped from Hesperia as she suckled on the blood escaping from her arm.

The warmth of her own blood in her mouth and the scent of the tangy metallic liquid drifting up to her nose were starting to cool the hot fire burning through her. Her mind had gone blank and her vampiric side was in charge, ruling her through her sheer hunger. Blood red eyes were focused downwards, intent only on acquiring more of her own life force. That was until she heard a sound, her sharp hearing picking up the sound of approaching footsteps. Her head snapped up, her blood red eyes scanning the corridor. The teen's arm was still clutched tightly in her jaws, blood dripping down her chin to her uniform and the floor below. She could smell and hear Kasamir's approach before she could see him. Hesperia's hearing was strong, but in this state, she could easily hear his heart beating. Thump thump thump thump; the sound echoed in her enhanced ears, like a cacophony of drums beating inside her brain. Wisely, he had stayed far enough back that she couldn't lunge and bite him, but he didn't seem to know about how quick she could be in this state. Luckily for him, she already had a source of blood. Her jaws tightened a little, digging her fangs deeper into her arm. A snarl issued from her, like a wild dog protecting its food from another predator.

As the supplies Kasamir had summoned from the Hospital Wing began to gather, Hesperia continued to drink her own blood. Her blood red eyes stayed focused on Kas as she drank. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that this was wrong and she wanted to stop, to pull her arm from her mouth and let her boyfriend treat the injury, but she just couldn't. At this point, her jaws were tightly wrapped around her arm and it would take a miracle to get her to release. Another snarl sounded from her as Kasamir began approaching her, this one more of a warning than anything else. If he got too close, she would happily abandon her own blood in favor of fresh, purely human blood. However, something else caught her nostrils and her eyes drifted from Kasamir to the bottle in his hands. He had it... a miracle. Kasamir was slowly approaching her, holding a bottle of fresh blood and a blanket, but the half-vampire was only focused on the bottle. He was speaking to her, but all she could hear was the thumping of his heart. It beat such sweet music to her hunger. Once he got close enough, she released her arm from her mouth and lunged forward, grabbing the bottle from his hands. She raised it to her lips and began to quaff the metallic liquid, like a baby suckling from a bottle of milk. Her blood red eyes looked up at Kasamir as she drank from the bottle, pleading with him to make this stop. When she came to her senses, she knew that she would likely vomit from the taste lingering inside her mouth, but right now, it was satisfying her monster.

Once the bottle was empty, she upended it, savoring the last drops of the life giving liquid, before unceremoniously discarding it to the side. The force with which she tossed the bottle caused it to shatter against the wall, sending glass flying down the hall. Her still red eyes looked back to Kasamir as he spoke about having more blood for her. Thump thump thump, his heart reverberated at her, singing a sweet song to her ears. She raised her hand to her mouth to wipe away the blood, only succeeding in smearing more blood on her face. The sleeve of her uniform had become soaked in her blood, staining the fabric a vibrant red color. However, it seemed her eyes were no longer that deep blood red, starting to shift into a more neutral red and her skin was regaining some of its color as well. The teen grabbed the other bottle of blood, preparing to drain its contents as well to sate the hunger. Kasamir began to approach her again and the half-vampire snarled again. However, he surprised her by quietly singing a lullaby in Greek, cutting through the fog in her brain. It brought to mind memories of her grandmother singing those same lullabies to her. She suddenly remembered her Yiayia, thinking about how the woman might react to seeing her like this. How Papou would invoke the name of the Lord... Her Yiayia crying and begging her to come back...

Hesperia dropped the bottle of blood, letting it spill its contents onto the floor as she looked around for a moment, then let her red-tinged brown eyes settle on her boyfriend. "K... K... Kas?" She looked down at the blood pooling around her, tears springing to her eyes. Her brain was still mired in the fog, but a bright light was starting to cut through, leading her back to herself. The tears gathering in her eyes finally broke, streaking down her cheeks and cutting through the smears on her face. "Wh...what did... I do?" Her breathing was pitched and she was starting to hyperventilate as her human side emerged through the terrible quagmire it had endured. Hesperia looked down at her arm, which was now throbbing in pain. She'd hurt herself again, that much was clear, but she was concerned by the amount of blood soaking her clothing. Had she hurt anyone else? She looked back up at Kasamir, pleading with him to tell her she hadn't hurt anyone else. The monster had been in control of her; she couldn't remember anything since the Pitch. There was the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, which made her sick, and she didn't know if it was hers or someone else's. God above, she hoped it was hers. If she'd hurt anyone, especially Kas, she just... she couldn't take it. "Please..." she said, barely in a whisper.