Chapter 7: Blackout Curtains & Heartbeats (Why Are You in My Room Again?!)
If someone had told me last month that my biggest problem would be installing blackout curtains for a vampire idol who basically moved into my apartment without asking, I'd have laughed.I miss that version of me. He was happy. He was free.
Now?Now I'm standing on a chair, sweating buckets, trying to screw in a curtain rod while Riku Kurosawa lounges on my bed like it's his personal throne.
"This is ridiculous," I mutter under my breath.
"You're welcome," he says smoothly, flipping through a glossy magazine with his own face on the cover. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have the privilege of upgrading your depressing little cave."
I glare at him over my shoulder. "It's called an apartment. And it was fine before you turned it into a vampire survival bunker."
"Fine?" He arches a perfect eyebrow. "Haruto, I've seen hospital rooms with more charm."
I finish tightening the screws, hop off the chair, and gesture dramatically at the brand-new blackout curtains. "There. Happy now, Your Majesty?"
He doesn't even look up. "They're wrinkled."
"RIKU—!"
The whole day has been like this. Ever since the mall fiasco, we've been hiding out, praying those pictures don't go viral. (Spoiler: they probably already have.)
And because apparently the curtains in his own room "weren't good enough," he dragged me into this little DIY nightmare.
"Are you sure," I say finally, throwing the empty box aside, "that you don't want to just… stay in your own room like a normal person?"
He looks at me then—eyes glinting faintly crimson in the low light, his lips curving into that slow, lazy smile that makes my brain short-circuit.
"Normal?" he says softly. "You think I'm normal?"
……Okay. No. No, I do NOT think that.
"Y-You know what I mean!" I blurt, fumbling with the curtain ties. "Why do you even care so much? Your room already has blackout curtains. It's practically a cave."
"It's about trust," he says simply, setting the magazine aside and leaning back on his elbows. "You trust me enough to let me stay here, don't you?"
"Uh—" My brain stutters like a broken vending machine. "T-That's not the point!"
"Then why does your heart sound like that?"
My blood freezes. "…Like what?"
He tilts his head, smiling that infuriating smile. "Like it's racing. Loud enough I can hear it from here."
OH MY GOD.Oh my GOD.I want to crawl under the bed and die.
Before I can think of a comeback, he suddenly swings his legs off the bed and walks toward me—smooth, silent, every step dripping with that predatory grace that reminds me exactly what he is.
I back up instinctively, bumping into the wall. "H-Hey, what are you—"
"Relax." His voice drops, soft and teasing. "I'm just curious."
He stops close. Too close. One hand comes up—slow, deliberate—and tugs gently on the tie of the curtain, letting it fall into place. Moonlight disappears, plunging the room into soft darkness.
"…There," he murmurs, his face inches from mine. "Perfect."
I can feel his breath on my cheek. Cool. Sweet. Too close, too much—
"Wh-What are you doing?" My voice cracks like a cheap floorboard.
"Making sure you can sleep," he says, stepping back with that damn smirk. "You look tired."
Tired?! I'm about to have a cardiac arrest!
He sprawls back onto my bed like he owns it. "I'll stay here tonight. Just until sunrise."
"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!"
"Do you really want me walking around in the dark when your neighbors are awake?" he counters smoothly. "What if someone sees me?"
……Crap. He's right.
"Fine," I mutter, dragging out a spare blanket for the couch. "But don't touch anything. And don't touch ME."
He chuckles low, the sound curling around my spine like smoke. "No promises, Haruto."
By the time I finally flop onto the couch in the living room, my face feels like it's been on fire for an hour straight.
This is fine.Totally fine.Except for the part where my entire existence is a walking, talking disaster.
…And something tells me it's about to get worse.
TO BE CONTINUED…