Sid, with her hair newly brushed, was now sat with her legs crossed on the mattress. She watching the Nosferatu’s laptop screen with only mild interest. Bella was rambling on, and Sid had already zoned in and out multiple times during her long-winded explanation. “...So then, once you’ve got the torrent file, it gets the client to connect to other users, so everyone who’s got the full thing can send you a little bit at a time instead of you having to download the whole thing at once, which is like, way slower! Because most people have way higher download speeds than upload speeds… And also, if any part of the file gets broken, then its way easier to-” “Bella.” Sid interjected, finally getting tired of the constant stream of hyperactive droning in her ear. “...Is the movie done downloading yet, or what?” “Oh! Uhh, yeah, it finished… 5 minutes ago.” Bella replied in a sheepish tone, only now realising how long she’d been talking for. Without needing to be told, she’d click over to the movie, a relatively new horror release titled ‘One Missed Call’, and let it play. … “Well, that fucking sucked.” Sid was the first to speak up after the credits began to roll. During the hour and a half runtime of the movie, both of them had shifted to comfier positions. Sid was currently laying on her front, propping her head up on her elbows and lightly kicking her legs up behind her. Bella, on the other hand, was sprawled out on her side, twisting her torso in an awkward manner that Sid refused to believe could be remotely comfortable. “Oh, c’mon! It wasn’t too bad! I liked the part where… Uh…” Bella trailed off, failing to conjure up any reasonable defence for the flick. “Bella, I enjoy some pretty shit horror movies, but even I have my limits. This was it.” “Fiiiine. Maybe you’re right.” The Nosferatu conceded as she closed the player, before laying back on her side, now looking up at Sid with a fanged grin on her face. “So, what do you wanna do now?” “Get high.” “Oh! Uhh… I don’t think we have any drugs around here. Or people to drink them from.” The Malkavian rolled her eyes, looking back down at the other girl, “I know, Bella. Just fantasizing. I’m too broke to afford much right now, anyway.” “Already? You got paid 5 grand, like, a week ago!” Another eyeroll. “Yeah. And I buy a lot of drugs, and owe a lot of people money.” “Sheesh, Sid!” Bella frowned, giving her a look that conveyed a mix of sympathy and confusion. She wasn’t able to comprehend the string of events that would lead someone to living a life like Sid’s. Nor did she have the context to understand just how tragic it was. Sid simply shrugged and looked off to the side. An awkward silence filled the room for the next few moments, the only sound coming from the light tapping of Bella’s fingers against the mattress. “Well, I hope you get paid some more soon!” Isabelle broke the silence, accompanying her words with a dumb, optimistic smile, before she reeled herself back in for a moment to add, “...But, maybe don’t spend it all on… Drugs. And stuff.” Sid looked silently back down at Bella for a second or two, raising her eyebrow, “...That’s your advice? ‘Don’t spend it all on drugs and stuff’?” The Malkavian stared for a few more moments, before she broke, unable to stop herself from snickering. “You know what, Bella? I’ll keep it in mind.” Bella didn’t quite understand what about that was so funny, but seeing Sid break into a smile over it made her glad that it was. A grin stretched across her lips, and she immediately jolted up in to a sitting position. “So you do smile!” She was failing pretty hard at containing her excitement. The reaction took Sid a little off guard, and for a moment she had the look of a kid who’d just been caught doing something they shouldn’t. Quickly, she’d clear her throat and regain her composure, rolling her eyes at Isabelle once more. “Yes, Bella, well done. I am indeed capable of smiling.” She mocked, attempting to play it off as best as possible while Bella sat there giggling and excitedly shifting around on the spot. “Do it again! C’mon!” She urged, leaning in closer, and reaching out to playfully poke at Sid’s shoulder. Sid was quick to swat the hand away, but that only caused her to try again. And then again, and a few more times after that, until Sid was all but forced into a catfight with her. “Piss off, Bella!” The Malkavian warned, trying her best to sound serious, but she couldn’t stop her tone from betraying her amusement. She’d shifted up in to a sitting position, freeing up both arms to keep the Nosferatu at bay. Isabelle was grinning ear to ear now, continuing her onslaught of pestering. “Nuh-uh! Not until you smile again!” She urged, poking up at the girl’s pale cheeks. It was getting harder and harder to effectively repel this attack, but it wouldn’t matter regardless, as Sid finally cracked once again. Her lips curled into a smile, and a giggle would slip from them before she could catch it. This look seemed unusual on Sid’s usually broody face, and yet in this moment, it seemed to come so naturally to her. “Okay, okay! Now piss off! I mean it!” Sid spoke out through her chuckles. As promised, Isabelle’s prodding slowed to a halt, and the two spent a moment enjoying the fleeting fit of laughter together before it too began to quiet down. Bella was still leaned in quite close, easily close enough to be considered within Sid’s personal bubble, and the Nosferatu was still staring at her with a silly look on her face. “...You’re cute when you smile, Sid.” She spoke, her usual loud, shrieky tone having notably softened. She was giving the Malkavian a dreamy look, and if their kind had any need to respire, she’d almost certainly be breathing heavily down her neck. Likewise, if their kind had any need for blood circulation, both their faces would have been going red by now. The rush of excitement was quickly beginning to die down, leaving Bella with a creeping nervousness building up within her. Perhaps that spur of the moment comment was too much? Sid was still processing it, trying in vain to grapple with some strange feeling stirring within her core. “Uh… Thanks, Bella.” Sid spoke out, finally breaking through the heavy silence that had filled the room. Isabelle was struggling to keep eye contact now, her black, sunken orbs instead dropping their gaze further down, stopping at the other girl’s lips. Even in her unlife, Sid’s lips had remained plush and full, with their perfectly applied black lipstick shining just a little in the dim lighting of the room. She’d only seen a smile on these lips a couple of times before, and tonight was the first time she’d seen one so genuine spread across them. Isabelle’s own lips weren’t nearly as much to look at. They weren’t necessarily repulsive, but they were far from pretty. Thin, chapped and the same gray tone as her skin. They seemed only just able to cover the set of monstrous, razor teeth behind them, with the occasional glint managing to shine through. But in spite of their cadaverous appearance, these lips were full of life — so expressive and unafraid to show whatever Bella was feeling in a given moment. So often stretched into a beaming smile when she was happy, or scrunched into a dorky pout when she was annoyed. Even now, Sid could watch as the girl’s bottom lip gently quivered in front of her. Was that nerve, or excitement? It could very well be both. The mood in the room had shifted astonishingly quickly. Sid wasn’t sure quite how they’d gotten here, or just where all of this tension had come from, but it was truly unavoidable now. She’d been in this situation before, enough to know exactly where it was heading… Was she really going to? With her, of all people? Sid briefly had to ponder over the life choices that had led her to this exact moment. “…Oh, fuck it. Come here, Bella.” She muttered, unable to stand another second of this tenseness. She gestured Bella in closer, but when the Nosferatu remained uselessly frozen in place, Sid took the liberty of grabbing her by the shirt and yanking her in. The first few seconds of the kiss were rather rough, their lips mashing together in a desperate attempt for a release of that almost painful build up. But once that wave of relief had come, she was able to slow herself down, her eyelids fluttering closed as she settled into a surprisingly delicate show of affection. Bella was hardly able to comprehend the moment, her arms hanging dumbly at her sides as she all but went limp. But while her body may have been still, her mind was racing with thoughts and feelings that came faster than she could even hope to process — and even though they were both long dead, the Nosferatu could swear that she could feel her own heartbeat pounding away in her chest. This would continue on for some time, until they’d both finally had their fill of reckless passion. Sid would eventually begin to slowly pull the girl off of her, leaning to hold their lips together for a short moment longer before finally allowing them to part. The Malkavian’s eyes opened once again, offering up a smoky glare that bored deep into the girl who’s face still hung just inches away from her own. Bella was managing to hang on still. Just about, at least. It took a few moments of sitting there with a foolish, slack-jawed look on her face to finally come to. She shook herself out of the daze, her eyes finally refocusing, and allowing the blurry white shape in front of her to form back in to Sid. “...Sid, I think I’m gonna faint.” ... “Vampires can’t faint, idiot.”