Love Bite | Yandere!Vampires x F!Reader

12: Unexpected Hangout

"I'm finally off! Thanks for waiting."

"No problem," Elliot smiles. He gestures towards your bag. "Do you need help carrying anything? I can hold that for you, if you'd like."

"I'm fine," you reassure. "It isn't heavy. Let's just head out. I'm really hungry, so I want to get home and make myself something to eat."

You've just finished another day at the coffee shop, and Elliot was nice enough to stick around and wait for you to be done. He even offered to walk you home, and not just so that you could chat for a while longer, but also to keep an eye out for that lowlife Johnny.

"I appreciate you going to all this trouble," you say, adjusting the strap of your bag. "I hope it's not too much of an inconvenience."

Elliot shakes his head. "Of course not. I like spending time with you, and I'd feel a lot better knowing you got home safe. I wish there was more I could do to help you get rid of that guy... so, it's actually a bit frustrating that this is all I'm capable of."

"Don't say that. It's not your fault. He's the one to blame. And also my shitty parents," you grimace.

Elliot smiles sympathetically, and although you don't really enjoy being pitied, the concern in his eyes is genuine. You can tell that if there was a way for him to get rid of Johnny without it coming back to bite you in the ass, he would do it in a heartbeat.

Still, it's probably best to change the topic. You'd rather not talk about your unfortunate childhood or dwell on the incident with Johnny any longer.

"I hope it's not a rude question or anything, but are you working right now?" you ask.

"Hm? Oh, yes," he nods. "I have a job at a flower shop. But since the customers would probably feel uncomfortable if I was working up front, I mainly just move the products around and do some of the flower arranging in the back. To be honest, I could tell the owner was reluctant to hire me, but more and more companies are being encouraged to hire vampires now that the new laws have passed. There's definitely an incentive, otherwise I doubt I would have been able to land a job so easily."

True. Honestly, you've been wondering about that for a while. Vampires are actively discriminated against because people fear them so much, so you worried that they would struggle to secure working positions. Nowadays, refusing to hire someone for those reasons is probably grounds for a lawsuit, but you're sure that a lot of people still aren't too keen on having a vampire as their coworker.

"Every human I've met so far can't seem to hide their bias towards me," Elliot admits. "Some are more subtle than others, but apart from you, I haven't met anyone who genuinely feels comfortable around me. I guess I haven't been in the city for a very long time yet, so perhaps that'll change at some point... but I don't know. I can't help but feel a bit doubtful."

You slump your shoulders, feeling immeasurably upset on his behalf. It isn't fair that people assume the worst of him, especially when he's such a good guy. Vampire or not, what matters is a person's character. If only they would give him a chance and actually get to know him properly.

"But that's what makes me appreciate you all the more," Elliot continues. He's blushing now, even avoiding your gaze somewhat. "You're so nice, and you don't judge people superficially. And I don't just mean with respect to me being a vampire. You just seem like the type of person to withhold your judgment until you've given someone a fair shot."

"Well, that's the least I can do," you shrug. "There's no point in jumping the gun. Granted, some people make really shitty first impressions that there's simply no recovering from, but I'm not going to automatically hate someone just based on rumors or gossip. I think the problem nowadays is that stories about vampires have gotten completely out of hand, and people can't get past that initial fear. They automatically assume the worst, and don't feel like risking it."