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A fruitful amalgamation of flavor even with the smallest of sips, with the faintest aftertaste of lumber lingering in her throat. Prior experiences had affirmed her belief that blood and water remained the only adequate choices for primary sustenance. But for pleasure, for leisure, she believed there could exist no kind that could please her.

But perhaps, savoring this succulent taste... she might yet be proven wronger still.

“Wowie, look at you...” Tyler grinned a fool’s grin, failing to stifle a snicker. “Girl can drink. I told ya... good shit, right?”

Having unearthed a rare kind of mead that didn’t make her want to immediately retch was almost worth bearing the turmoil of his lingering company. Almost...

“Be silent,” Amelia chided, passing Tyler back the opened bottle. “I am here, begrudgingly, loathingly, only to drink. I am finished making conversation.”

“Cool by me,” He said, then shot his hands away from hers as if repulsed by the drink. “You’re enjoying it much more than I ever will. You drink it. ‘Sides I’m driving anyway.”

.....

Quite the chivalrous gesture. Amelia scoffed derisively, slowly lifting the bottle back to her lips. “Suit yourself.”

The snow was pouring in steady increments. Layers of pure white replaced the concrete of the ground, the once bustling sidewalks now had crowds passing only sparse and few, even the streets had grown quiet, calm. The rousing city subdued by the cold of winter’s presence.

Even Amelia herself, despite her resilience as a proud, formidable descendant of the fabled Elidna could feel the blistering touch of the falling snow wearing her down.

Yet still, for some reason, Tyler would not yield.

Shivering and quivering almost maniacally with the slight passing of every breeze, Tyler remained by her, nearly slipping as he jumped, trying to join her perched on the roof of his car, and as the night stretched on, his discomfort grew more apparent... seeking refuge in the fabric of his clothes until his head could only barely be seen protruding out his jacket.

Alas, inept as he may seem to be, surely he was aware of his own limits, knows of his own vulnerabilities. Should he choose to compromise them, that is his choice and his choice alone. It is not any of her concern to raise concern.

More time had passed, and the misty skies above showed no signs of relenting. For the umpteenth time, she heard the quiver of a gasp, the chatter of teeth, and maintaining indifference, she took another sip.

“C-Could have told me y-you liked to drink,” Tyler mustered out in a small cloud of white. “I-I get it though. Woulda ruined your whole playing h-hard-to-get schtick, w-won’t it?”

“I told you to stop...” She turned to lash out her usual cold apathy at him, but couldn’t. From her scowl, she glimpsed it, through trembling arms, huddled knees, the familiar sight of his infuriating smile undaunted by the frigid cold.

Amelia pursed her lips, stifling her words with a hasty swig. She just couldn’t comprehend it. Just what would it take for him to be deterred? For all she’s known him, he has not once lost his enthusiasm, his optimism, always facing her with that same infuriating smile.

“Fuck, I forgot!” Tyler’s smile turned to shock, springing out his sheltered state and struggling to free his stiff arms from his jacket. “You cold? Here, you can take my...”

“Keep it,” Amelia said. “Your scent is your own, and I am fine as I am.”

“Y-You sure?”

“Courtesy should not come at the expense of your well-being. You can stand to be a bit more selfish.”

“And what, have you diss me for not being a gentleman?” His stiff face attempted an amused look. “Yeah, I’d rather freeze to death, actually.”

Amelia almost believed that perhaps the cold had merely frozen his lips in that grinning state. It was the only way to explain his everlasting cheerfulness.

Except... perhaps it was not so everlasting, after all. One time, a single instance, she recalled where the belief did not hold true, when she had glimpsed a completely different side to him. A side that he had not shown nor had she seen of him since.

Amelia lowered the tip of the bottle from her mouth.

“Do you recall,” She began slowly. “During our first ever outing? You’ve insisted my appearance could use some flourish...”

“Ah, y-you mean when I got you to put m-makeup on?” Tyler said, his gaze staring content in the scene of the past. “Yeah, can’t forget that. Y-You looked absolutely breathtaking. Why, you want to go for another session? I-I got no problem with that!”

Amelia ignored him.

“Along the way to that grueling ordeal, I noticed you had appeared distracted, and if I may assume... also quite a bit distraught. Do you remember that?”

“D-Distraught?”

“Upset,” She clarified, noticing his confusion. “And even long afterward, you did not recover your usual vigor. Your enthusiasm, your demeanor turning strangely muted.”

“Amelia, girl, y-you’re throwing words at me I ain’t got the brains to know. You d-don’t mind, can ya... whoo, cold... c-can ya simplify it some more?”

Simplify it some more, he requested. Amelia grunted, throwing all caution to the unfeeling wind.

“Who is Jen?”

At once, it happened. As if she was flung back to that moment, to that one instance, glancing at his face, seeing the smile, the joy, completely disappear from his expression.

He looked away from her, exuding a rigidness that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Where’d you hear that name?”

“Whispers under your breath are no secret to me, unfortunately.”

“She’s no one.”

“And that’s all you’ll say of it?” She cocked her head at him. “You were so eager to talk before, and now I’m permitting you the chance to do so.”

“I’ll shut up now then,” Tyler said in an uncharacteristic somberness. “Drink in peace. Won’t hear a word of me no more.”

“You...”

“Amelia...” He smiled at her again. It was a different smile. A perturbing smile. “I’ll be quiet, okay?”

What was this feeling? Guilt? The slight stab in her chest, the slight prick of wrongdoing? Surely not. What is she to be ashamed of? She had only asked him a question, only simply inquired... yet why did she feel unnerved?

Amelia raised the drink to her mouth again, let the warmth of the wine coat her tongue once more... yet inexplicably, suddenly, she could not taste the flavors as keen as before.

But right before she could properly comprehend the swirl of unknown emotions inside her, her senses took over, her hearing instantly growing sharper as she heard the trudge of multiple footsteps plowing through the mounting snow.

She looked up into the darkness of the deserted ahead, and through the flakes of falling white, spotted three large silhouettes strutting towards them. Beside her, she saw Tyler squinting, finally noticing them as they drew nearer.

“Oh, they don’t look like good people...” He muttered.

She could sense his unease, his confusion, and as the three figures finally marched closer into visibility, she could not find any fault in him to be so. Three large wooly coats, three sinister faces brimming with piercings, and three sets of stares meeting their own.

Tyler swallowed, scooting himself off the hood of his car.

Amelia took another sip.

“Hey boys,” He greeted them in his usual lax manner. “What’s up? Can I help ya with anything?”

They circled him. Like starving carnivores to plump prey, pressuring him with the weight of three-on-one, and Amelia gave a sigh, knowing already what’s to come.

“Yeah, sure, I think you can,” growled the meanest and biggest of three, spurring forward at Tyler until their distances between was shortened to mere inches. “How’s about you give back all the shit you stole off my girl, hm?”